Adventures of the Guardians
by Ocracoke0Island-Dreams
Summary: Multiple oneshots and mini-archs made up of little tales of the Guardians from Rise of the Guardians, pre and post movie. May include some oneshots based upon the books as well as crossovers.
1. Winter Break

**Author's Note;**

**And I am back into the swing of writing! ****We will see how long it lasts ****but for right now, I have gotten prompts on Tumblr, and of course you guys can drop me a prompt on here as well! This fic will be a series of one-shots (perhaps multi-chapters if I like some of them enough) that have been suggested to me by fellow RotG fandom members. So, if you come up with one, let me know! This one was suggested by switzdark91931 on tumblr. Thank you! :) As always, reviews are welcomed!**

Jamie POV

I sat in class, staring blankly at the chalkboard as my teacher went on and on about our lesson. It was almost the end of the day, lunch and recess had already passed, and everyone around me was itching to get outside again. It's Friday, but not just any Friday; Today is the last day before winter break. Everyone was all excited for Christmas and New Year's Day, but what I was most excited for was not the holidays.

Nope, I am most excited for a visit from a special friend. One I haven't seen since last winter, and he apparently was already waiting for me. How can I tell? It's snowing, and the snowflakes are big and fluffy. And that can only mean one thing.

Jack Frost is waiting right outside.

Thankfully, I sit right by the window. I keep looking out, hoping to see him. Drawing in the frost on the window, I began to zone out. I didn't even notice when my teacher placed a paper on my desk.

Before I knew it the bell rang, and all my friends jumped up to leave. I began to get up when my teacher, Mrs. Thomas, put her hand in front of me.

"Not so fast, Jamie. You still have to do your test." She said, motioning towards the paper laying untouched on my desk. I look up at her with a guilty look on my face.

_Whoops. _"But Mrs. Thomas, the school day is over. Can't I take it after break?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I need to grade the tests over break. I'll call the office, and let them know have your sister wait in the office and to notify your mother of why you might get home late." Mrs. Thomas walked over to her desk and began to punch in the office number. She looked up at me, and tilted her head at my desk.

"Better get started."

I groan quietly, but sit back down and grab my pencil. Looking over the test, I quickly realize it might take longer than I had hoped.

Jack POV

I sat perched on the porch railing of Jamie's school, snowball in hand ready to strike. The bell rings, and a sea of kids pour out from the school, many of them running straight for the new snow. Snowball fights broke out almost instantly, and I had to laugh at the scene as teachers tried to stop the children. I made sure none of the snow had formed ice in the snowballs, so at least they wouldn't get hurt that way. I saw one fifth grader through a snowball at his teacher before running down the street. The teacher simply brushed off the snow and stalked back inside. I smiled, and threw the snowball into the air, causing fresh snow to fall. I formed another in my hand, and waited for Jamie to come out.

Jamie was a good kid. Best of all, he could see me and helped other kids believe in me. It is hard to believe it has been a year since I first got to speak with him, a year since the Guardians and I stopped Pitch, a year since I became a Guardian. It wasn't half bad, actually. North offered to let me stay up at the Pole, even. I turned it down but, I still find myself going up there whenever I need somewhere to say. I can tell he enjoys the company, and I enjoy exploring his workshop and hanging with the elves and yetis. It's pretty sweet.

Tooth, well Tooth is still busy but she always stops in whenever I'm at the Pole to say hi. She is kinda protective over me though, my teeth too. She doesn't like it when she finds me eating candy. Although I don't mind the attention. She sort of reminds me of my mother from when I was human.

Sandman and I get along great. I found he enjoys when I freeze things, he finds it humorous. I didn't question why; freezing anything and not getting yelled at for it was fine with me. We even managed to freeze one of Bunnymund's ears once. Needless to say it didn't end well for me later, but it was worth it. Besides, Sandy created dolphins with his dreamsand for me while I was recovering from Bunnymund's "payback".

The Easter Kangaroo and I still have our quarrels, obviously, but now we can at least hang out for a little while before arguing. I call it progress. Maybe soon I'll be able to actually visit his place without needing supervision from North.

By now thirty minutes had passed after the ringing of the bell. I hopped off the railing and peeked inside the doors, just as the principle, or at least I think that's who Jamie said he was, walked up to close them. I threw the snowball behind me, lunging forward and flew over him inside. The door shut behind me and the principle walked away. I looked around; I'd never been inside a current elementary school before. The fake lights sort of hurt my eyes, and I found it was much warmer inside. I tugged at my hoodie's collar and began to walk down one of the halls, hoping to see Jamie.

_Did he go home early or something? Did I miss him coming out? Did he exit a different door? _I continued to walk down the hall, glancing in the classrooms. Most were empty minus the teachers sitting at their desks. I made it to the end of the hall without seeing Jamie. I turned to find a door labeled "STAIRCASE". I shrugged and pushed the door up, walking through and letting the door slam behind me. I flew up over the flight of stairs and pushed through another door, finding another hallway of classrooms in front of me. I raised my eyebrow and repeated the process from downstairs. Most of these classrooms were empty, and I had reached the middle of the hall.

_What floor did Jamie say his class was on? I'm pretty sure it was the second floor, or was it the first? _I shook my head and was just about to peak into a classroom when a woman walked out. I jumped back and floated in the air, looking at her.

The woman turned her head and looked back into the classroom. "Jamie, I'll be right back. I need to get some things from the office. I'm going to close the door, alright?"

A smile spread across my face. _Jamie!_

I heard his voice from inside the classroom. "Yeah, okay Mrs. Thomas." He sounded bored. _Why is he staying after so late? Maybe he got in trouble? No, that's not like him._

Before I had time to think the teacher shut the classroom door and walked off. I landed on the ground, watching her as she went. I reached for the door knob, and waited until I heard the staircase door slam shut before beginning to open the door.

Jamie POV

"Jamie, I'll be right back. I need to get some things from the office. I'm going to close the door, alright?" I heard Mrs. Thomas ask.

I looked up from my test and leaned my chin in my palm. "Yeah, okay Mrs. Thomas." I heard the door close, and I looked back at my test; I was almost done. But that didn't make me feel any better, as when I looked out the window the snow had stopped. Jack wasn't out there anymore.

_Maybe I'll see him on the way home? I hope he's not mad I missed him._ I sighed and began working again when I heard the door creak open. _That was quick. _

I leaned over my desk to look at the door. "Mrs. Thomas?"

I didn't hear anything. I got up and looked again. I pulled at the bottom of my shirt, nervous to who had opened the door.

"Hello? Mrs. Th-" I was cut off by a snowball flying towards me. "Whoa!" I ducked and the snowball hit the wall behind me. I looked at it, and then turned to find the culprit of the snowball. There stood, rather floated Jack Frost in the doorframe, smirking as he rested his head on his staff. I grinned wide.

"Jack!" I yelled as I raced over to him.

Jack dropped to the ground and ruffled my hair. "Hey there, kiddo! 'Thought I'd drop in, considering you didn't come out. Any reason to why that is?"

I laughed a little got out from under his hand. "'Just needed to finish a test. I kinda zoned out in class and missed most of it." Jack chuckled softly.

"Gotta do your school work, kid. I can't say I know what it's like, as in my time school was different." He sighed quietly, looking down for a second. My grin shrunk a bit, but quickly rebounded.

"Hey Jack, how about you meet me at my house after I'm done? I should be home by 4:30, could we hang out then?"

Jack looked away from the floor up towards me and smiled. "That sounds like a plan. Be ready for the biggest snowball fight of your life!" I laughed.

"I'll get my friends to help me this time, Jack!"

"Oh so they can see me now?" Jack smiled, but sounded a bit surprised.

I nodded and smiled. "They all believe in you now, Jack! They keep asking me about the story about you 'n Pitch 'n the Guardians. I bet they can see you now!"

Jack smiled at me and crouched down to my eye level. "Thanks, Jamie. That uh, really means a lot."

I blinked once or twice, but smiled again. "You're welcome, Jack! It's the least I could do, after you saved us kids last year." Jack stood up straight and ruffled my hair again. I laugh again and push his hand away. He grins at me.

"Better hurry up and finish that test, I'm sure Sophie is getting impatient in the office." Jack lifts off his feet again and heads for the door, but stops when we can hear footsteps approaching. I run back over to my seat and quickly resume working on my test while Jack flies just above the door. Mrs. Thomas walks back in and looks at me with a confused face.

"Did I hear you talking to someone?"

"Nope, I've just been working on my test Mrs. Thomas." I look at Jack floating above my teacher, and watch as he lifts his index finger to his lips, 'shhing' me, and then uses his staff to freeze the very tips of Mrs. Thomas's hair. I choke back my laughter. Mrs. Thomas raises her eyebrow at me.

"What is so funny, young man?"

"N-Nothing." I quickly look down towards my test, but glance back up in time to see Jack wave goodbye and fly out the door. I smile and get back to working on my test. Soon enough, I am done and I hand my paper to Mrs. Thomas. I squint my eyes a little, and I can still see the frozen ends of her hair. I smirk and quickly run back to my desk, shove my stuff into my book bag and run towards the door.

"See ya next year, Mrs. Thomas!"

"Goodbye, Jamie!" I hear her as I race down the hallway, push through the staircase door and leap down the stairs. I run towards the office and peak my head inside.

"Sophie?" I see her head pop um from behind one of the chairs, and she jumps off and walks over to me.

"We can go home now?"

I wave towards the secretary to let her know we are leaving, then turn to Sophie. "Yep! And guess who is waiting at home for us?" Sophie's eye grow wide as she whispers,

"Jack Frost?"

I nod, and she smiles at me and grabs my hand. "Come on then!" We both run out of the office and out the school towards. Headed home and ready for the best winter break ever.


	2. Sick Day

**Thanks for all the positive feedback, guys! On tumlr, on dA, and on here! As long as I have time and ideas, I'll keep writing! This ****prompt suggested by chika-roxy on tumblr. This one practically wrote itself! :) I started writing it in my drawing journal at school during sociology, haha.**

**Smellybackpackofdoom: Let me think about, but I probably will! I just need to learn a little more about their personalities to write them accordingly, although with both of their "Meet the Guardians" videos being out, I might work on it this weekend!**

**WhatTheCensored: Oh, thank you! I guess I didn't check it well enough. C; **

**GeminiKari: I'll try, I'm not good with couple fics yet. But I'll give it a shot if I find a good idea! Fluff, I'm assuming? :3**

**TeeVonSchweetz: I have the perfect idea in my head for it! I'll work on it this weekend. (: **

**Anon: I'll think about it, I don't know much about Sophie yet. Any pointers for her?**

**RobinMakersMeHappy: Haha, nice! ;3**

* * *

I had gotten the message from one of Tooth's mini fairies who flew to my warren about an hour ago. Needless to say wasn't sure on how to react to it. None of the other guardians had ever fallen seriously ill before; no one knew what to do in a situation like this.

After gathering up what little medical supplies I had into my pack and instructing the eggs on what to do while I was gone, I opened one of my tunnel systems and headed for the North Pole. The message from Tooth and the others kept circulating through my mind. Jack had appeared on North's doorstep, shivering and suffering from a fever. North said Jack passed out as soon as he knew that North had seen him. North then immediately had the yetis notify all of us; North needed our help with this. While being great with children when they are healthy, North had no experience in how to care for an ill child. Let alone an 18 year-old immortal winter spirit.

_Flashback_

North was reviewing some of the yetis' work on the new toys he'd designed in his office when Phil, a yeti Jack named during his many attempts to sneak into North's workshop, came in. He had a look of concern and urgency in his eyes and said something about the entrance to the workshop.

"What is it, Phil?"

Phil grumbled again and pointed towards the door, indication he wanted me to follow him somewhere. I sighed and got up, and Phil immediately started walking out. We headed towards the workshop entrance and once we got there Phil pointed outside.

"Really Phil, you needed me to come all the way out here just to show me, what? The door?"

Phil shook his head. He opened the door and pointed outside.

I poked my head out and looked around. "What? What do you-" I stopped mid-sentence as I saw a figure stumbling through to snow towards the door. I walked out and squinted my eyes against the harsh white backdrop of the snow. I then realized it was only Jack. Chuckling a bit, I called out to him.

"Hey there, Jack! You nearly gave the yetis and I a heart attack! You startled us a little bit, boy. So what brings you here?"

Jack looked up at me slowly. He was leaning heavily on his staff for support as he trudged through the snow. I thought I saw him shivering.

"H-Hey, North…" I grew concerned, I could barely hear him. He then began to cough and shake violently. I walked towards him a little faster.

"Jack, what-" I stopped suddenly as I watched Jack collapse, falling into the snow.

"Jack!" I ran over to him and picked him up in my arms. His hair surrounding his face with drenched with sweat, and when I pressed my hand to his forehead it felt hot. _This is not good. _I turned my head to yell over to Phil.

"Phil! Have the elves prepare the infirmary and make a bed. Send word to the other Guardians; Jack is sick!"

_End flashback_

The tunnel opened up above me and I hopped out, looking around at my surroundings. Usually when Jack was at the pole, it would snow lightly and the wind would blow a cool breeze around. But today, there was no snow and no wind. It was almost as if the weather was nonexistent. It was simply cold and overcast.

_Jack must really be sick if weather is this calm. He always affects the weather wherever he goes. _Even when Jack was completely calm, I could notice subtle changes in the weather. It unnerved me to think about this, so I quickly ran to North's workshop and headed inside. I found one of the yetis and asked him where North and the others were. He directed me down one of the many hallways, I don't think I'd ever been down this one. Knowing North for as long as I have and visiting his workshop so often, you'd think I know where the infirmary was by now. But we've, thankfully, never needed to use it, and I'd hoped it would have stayed that way. After walking down the hall for a while, I turned and came across a door marked with a red cross. I sighed, and braced myself for the worst.

* * *

If the current situation hadn't been so serious, I probably would have burst out laughing at the sight I saw before me.

Elves and yetis were rushing around the room, looking for any medical supplies they thought could help Jack. North was trying to direct his workers on what to do or even to calm down to no avail. Tooth was hovering above the chaos, seeming a little bit at a loss of what to do while her mini-fairies flew all around helping the elves and yetis. When she saw me she flew over to me.

"Thank goodness you're here. Did you bring those supplies you'd said you would?" She looked tired; I started to wonder if she had been busy before she dropped everything to come here. _I should ask if she needs any help later. Easter is a long ways away and as of right now everything is on schedule in preparations. _I smiled at her.

"Yep, I did. I brought all I could find, 'though I am not sure how much they'll be of use for Jack." I opened my pack and emptied its contents onto a nearby bed. Tooth smiled back at me and grabbed a few of the supplies.

"Thanks, Bunny."

As she flew back into the chaos that was the elves, yetis, and mini-fairies, I looked for Sandy. I found him sitting on the bed closest to Jack. He was smiling encouragingly and creating multiple things with his dreamsand; snowflakes, sleds with children riding them, kids having snowball fights. He let them fly all over the room, not helping the already chaotic environment, but no one seemed to notice them much. I noticed dolphins continued to fly around Jack's area, not that I was surprised; all the guardians know those are his favorite animal. I smiled at the scene, until I saw Jack and my heart dropped.

His skin was sickly pale, even for him. His eyes were dim and half closed; he only seemed partially aware of what was going on, though I guess it might've been a helpful thing. He didn't seem bothered by the loud and chaotic atmosphere of the room. His regular blue hoodie was switched with a pale, light blue t-shirt, and his brown pants and belt had been replaced with simple white basketball shorts. His bangs were pushed back, moistened with sweat, and his eyebrows were lowered as Jack concentrated on following Sandy's dreamsand creations' paths.

The color of his face worried me the most. His usual pale, lightly pink cheeks were now flushed with a red blush, as if he was incredibly embarrassed; I knew this was not the case for the obvious reason of his current state, but also because I know his cheeks actually turn a pale-purple when he blushes. I learned this during one of our many prank-wars. On his forehead layed a wet rag, which I assumed to be ice cold. There was a blanket on the bed as well, but it appeared as if Jack had either kicked it off or had someone remove it for him.

To say it bluntly, Jack looked awful.

I walked over to his beside and crouched down to his eye level, careful not to block his view of Sandy's creations.

"Hey mate, how ya feelin'?"

Jack's gaze sharply shifted on to me. He almost appeared confused for a moment, but then he blinked and shrugged his shoulders slightly. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and I looked up at it to find Tooth. She held some bottles containing liquid, which I assumed to be medicine. I cringed slightly, I felt bad for the winter spirit. Even I knew the sourness that was the "flavoring" of liquid medicine.

Tooth sighed. "He hasn't, or been able to speak since he was brought inside." I could tell by Tooth's expression; she was full of worry and concern for Jack. She may go a bit crazy over his teeth from time to time, but I have caught her acting as a mother towards Jack many times since he helped us stop Pitch.

"North, Sandy, and I are all worried. I can't remember any of us getting sick, well, not this sick. North wants to ask the Man in the Moon tonight if he knows what is going on, or at least know how to help." I looked at Jack again; he had stopped trying to move his head around to follow the dreamsand creations. He couldn't wait until nightfall to be treated.

All of a sudden Jack groaned, and it felt like everyone in the room stopped breathing. Tooth flew straight over to Jack while Sandy grabbed a nearby bucket and placed it in front of Jack. I grimaced and turned away as I realized Jack was about to retch. I heard him groan again before being followed by the awful sick noise I knew as someone throwing up. I heard Tooth quietly telling Jack it was okay, and I could hear her hands rubbing on the fabric against his back. Many of the elves hid under nearby beds while the noises continued. Some left, and I wished I could as well.

Once Jack was done, North ordered all of the elves and mini-fairies to wait outside; deciding they were only causing more problems than finding solutions. Most of the yetis left as well, although Phil and two or three others remained, looking through the medicines they had found. I saw many in the garbage, probably decades old.

Jack simply lied there on the bed now, he even began to shiver. His eyes followed the remaining dreamsand dolphins with an expression of discomfort written clearly across his face.. Sandy was no longer smiling, instead frowning sympathetically. We all stood there for a while, watching Jack. Sandy quickly and gently put some of his dreamsand on Jack, and soon his eyes closed and we could hear his breathing steadily. North motioned his head towards all of us then towards the door before heading towards it himself. Tooth and I shared a glance before following him, Sandy close behind. Phil remained however, sitting on the bed next to Jack, making sure he'd have someone there if he woke up. Sandy closed the door behind us, and we all turned our attention to North.

* * *

We all sat in North's office and started to discuss what we should do next.

Tooth rose her hand slightly to indicate she wished to speak first. "Have we figured out what exactly is wrong with him? He has so many symptoms; coughing, vomiting, fevers, shaking, shivering, oh and were his hands clammy? I think his hands were clammy and he was sweating pretty bad-" North put his hand up halfway to stop her.

"There are too many things it could be, and none of us are doctors."

Sandman raises his hand and creates the word "young" above his head quickly followed by an image of us, then followed by the word "immune system".

Tooth nods. "His body was younger when he died. His immune system isn't as resistant to things we might not even get one symptom from. He still has the health system of a child."

North strokes his beard as he thinks. "I say we should let him rest, and then ask the Man in the Moon tonight."

I simply stared at him. "North, you saw Jack. He's only gonna continue to get worse as the day progresses. He can't wait 'til nightfall for assistance." North's eyebrows knit together as he thought about this.

"I suppose you're right, Bunnymund. But what do you suppose we should do?"

I looked to Tooth. "What medicines did the elves 'n fairies find? Anythin' that could be of use?"

She nodded. "There was cough syrup, medicine to help with the fever, oh and there was medicine to stop the vomiting. We also found ice packs and heating pads, but we definitely don't need the heating pads."

North sat up a little bit and pointed out, "Can he take all of those medicines at once? Chemical reactions aren't fun to mess with. Trust me, I learned that when the elves decided to mix soda and those funny tablets and tried to drink it." I gave North a look of shock and he put up his hands.

"Hey, I stopped them though!" North said in defense. Sandman smiled again as he silently giggled.

Tooth giggled thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "I'll need to double-check on that, but you're probably right."

Sandman created a clock above his head and then a moon. I looked down at him.

"Right now it is," I turned to look out the window and check the sun's position before turning back to Sandy. "Around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Nightfall is about six hours away." I looked to North.

"I say we should let Jack rest for a bit, and then give him which ever medicine he needs most. I vote for the fever, as that is most dangerous to Jack."

Sandman created an image of a bucket filled with snow, then one of Jack.

Tooth lifted off the ground a little. "That'd be a great idea, Sandy. We can re-soak that wet rag with fresh snow. We should probably place it on his neck, as to not give him a headache from direct contact with his forehead."

North cleared his throat a little. "Do you think we should move him to a smaller room? I have plenty of spare bedrooms, one even I have sort of been preparing for Jack, in case he ever agreed to stay for a little while. I know that when children are sick, they like to feel comfortable and not singled out. I imagine the large infirmary isn't exactly a comfortable setting."

I smiled a bit. "He'd probably like that. We can all take turns watching him when he's sleepin', too. I'm sure he'll want someone there when he wakes up. I know I would."

Tooth nods. "I volunteer to take first watch! The mini-fairies can handle things at my palace for a little bit."

North smiles. "I'll take the second watch, then."

Sandman raised his hand and creates an image of the night sky.

North understands what he means. "Sure Sandy, you can take watch during the night. You sure you can manage that with the children's' dreams tonight?"

Sandman nods, smiling.

"I can watch with Sandy, in case he needs to run out for the dreams." I suggest, and Sandy nods in agreement. "I can then take the watch after that. The eggs can hold down the fort while I'm gone."

North clapped his hands together. "It is settled then. We shall go in that order until Jack starts to feel better. Now, let's get started getting the medicine and room prepared for Jack."

* * *

The time was somewhere around Midnight, and the moon seemed to be smiling down upon the North Pole. Sandy was floating in a cloud of dreamsand, craftily creating and sending out dreams from the small room that Jack was in; the dreamsand passing through the small window and out into the night sky, reaching children across the globe. Bunnymund sat in a chair next to Jack's bedside, resting his head in the palm of his hand and watching the dreamsand dance around the room. He mainly focused on the dreams forming above Jack's head. Jack was now getting closer to his regular skin color and hadn't vomited since six. His shivering had also stopped and his fever had decreased some. He was able to rest under a blanket and sheets now as well. He hadn't done much in between sleeping and taking the medicine, which by the way he obviously disliked the taste of by his futile attempts to refuse taking it. _He's definitely still a child at heart._ Bunnymund had chuckled sympathetically while Tooth made Jack swallow the horrid stuff.

He looked at the night sky before looking to Sandy, holding back a yawn. He could tell the dream spirit was exhausted from trying to confine his work to the small room with only one way outside.

"Why don't ya go on out and do your job, Sandy? I can watch him now."

The Sandman looked over at him, thinking for a moment, and then nodded. He sprinkled a little bit more dreamsand on Jack before disappearing in his dreamcloud. Bunnymund then turned his attention to Jack again.

Time seemed to trickle past, and Bunnymund found himself about to drift off when he heard Jack moving in the bed. His head shot up and focused on the boy. To his surprise, Jack's eyes opened and met his gaze.

"H-Hey kangaroo. D-Didn't expect to see you… here…" Bunny raised his eyebrow in question.

Jack tried to shrug his shoulders. He closed his eyes again. "Y-You know, w-we don't get along much. I t-thought… you wouldn't care to stay."

Bunny shook his head. "No, mate. You're part of a family now, our family. And well, you're the baby of the family." Jack's eyebrows knit together briefly as if he didn't like that idea, but Bunnymund laughed softly.

"I just mean that you're the youngest, Jack, and we felt like we gotta take care of you. You… you gave us all a good scare. None of us has really needed to care for a sick child, nor teenager. You can imagine our panic when we saw the condition you were in." Jack smiled as little.

"W-Who took charge in getting you guys all to work… You kn-know, when you guys decided to… make me take that gross medicine…"

"I did."

Jack didn't respond for a moment. He opened his eyes half way and looked at the Pooka.

"Really?"

Bunnymund nodded. "Someone had to, 'n it was clear none of us really knew how to, so I decided to take the challenge. I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself."

Jack laughed softly, causing Bunnymund to smile. "I'll ag-agree with you on that…" Jack yawns and Bunnymund ruffles the winter spirit's hair.

"How about you get some more rest, eh mate?"

Jack nodded and resettled into the bed.

"G'night, Jack."

Jack opened his eyes half away again. "N-Night… and thanks, Bunny. For everything."

Bunnymund smiled again. "You're welcome, Jack."


	3. Frostbitten

Night was beginning to fall in the quiet, colonial town of Burgess. Most of the people were already inside, starting fires to keep out the fresh winter cold of late November. However, there were a few still out and about, for what seemed like a stroll through the woods, but they weren't necessarily locals nor were they simply out to enjoy the scenery.

A woman's voice quietly called out to her companions. "What should we do now, North?"

North turned around to face Toothiana and the other guardians with a sigh. They were trudging through the thick, densely snow-covered woods for some time now in search of the sleigh. The battle with Pitch had been brutal; it was a miracle none of them were seriously harmed, although they had been separated for a while. Luckily, they had agreed to meet up in the forest below them beforehand. However, it had not been part of the plan to lose the sleigh.

North simply looked at Toothiana before shrugging. "We find the sleigh, we fix it, we go back to the Pole, and figure out what to do next. Here it is much too cold to stay and discuss. Come on."

* * *

_Bunnymund_

As we continued to look for the darned sleigh, which how we- rather North- lost it so easily is beyond me, we came across a frozen lake. I looked at it for a second and thought about the current temperature of the environment. It made no sense for the lake to be frozen over already.

"Hey, now ain't that odd."

North and the others looked at me, Sandy making a question mark appear above his head.

I gestured towards the frozen lake in front of us. "The lake, I meant. Isn't it a little early for it to be frozen like this?"

North observed the surroundings before looking at the lake again. "Hmm, I suppose so. But I can't say I'm an expert on this region of the colonies though, this might be normal."

"What's so important about a frozen lake, Bunny?" Toothiana prompted me. I shrugged.

"With all the weird stuff that's been goin' on with Pitch, ya can't ever be too careful."

It was then Sandman began tugging on mine and North's legs before pointing at something across the lake. I tried squinting my eyes to see what it was, turning my ears in its direction. It appeared to be a mortal young male, but it was almost as if he was looking directly at us, as if he could see us. _No, he can't see us. He may not be an adult but, he looks too old to believe in us._

"Can… can he see us?" I hear Tooth ask quietly what we're all thinking. All of a sudden the wind picks up, appearing as if it was an answer to her question. I ruffle my fur and look at North. He glances at the figure before turning to look at me and nods. I nod my head back and turn to Sandy and Tooth.

"Why don't you two get a head start back to the Pole; North and I will look for the sleigh." Sandman raises his hand and protest and Toothiana begins to say something when North clears his throat.

"Yes, that is a good idea. You two can notify the elves and yetis of the situation, and Tooth, if you wish, you can have the mini-fairies aid in preparation of the sleigh garage; I'm sure we'll need it fully stocked for repairing the sleigh. We have more important things to attend to than a mere curious mortal." It suddenly began to snow, the wind picking up again; much more harsh than the first time.

Toothiana looked at me with a look of questioning on her face, before nodding and flying upwards, glancing down at Sandy waiting for him to follow. Sandy hesitated, however. Looking over at the figure again, he turned his head towards North, and almost glared at him. This startled me; Sandy hardly ever got mad. But, he soon lifted up and joined Toothiana before they both flew away from the lake.

I looked at North, and then for the figure across the lake.

"North, do you suppose it is-" I stopped myself, realizing the boy was gone.

"Where did he-" North was cut off when a skinny, young figure seemed to appear from nowhere right in front of us. I hopped back and almost pulled out my boomerangs before stopping myself. No need to make myself a target.

The boy looked towards North with a hurt expression on his face. "I'm not important?!" His voice seemed to carry throughout the clearing, and the snow stopped falling.

Now seeing him in close-range, I quickly realized it was the figure from across the lake.

I could now better see his features. He was about the average height of a human, seventeen or eighteen year-old boy. He had a skinny figure, long legs but didn't appear to be very muscular. His hair was as white as the snow falling around us, his skin nearly matching the color of the full moon rising above our heads. He held a wooden staff in his hands; it didn't seem like much of a weapon.

He then turned to me and I got to see his face. His eyes were a bright blue. It appeared if he had been crying, the whites in his eyes were tinted red, and there appeared to be frozen water on his face, catching the moons rays. He glared at me, but still had the look of utter pain and disbelief on his face.

"I'm not important?" He repeated, a little quieter. I took a step towards the boy.

"Who are you?" The boy's eyes seemed to water and he stepped back from in between North and I.

"You don't know? Didn't the voice tell you?"

_The voice? What… No, no way he would do this to a boy so young. _I looked up at the moon in utter shock. He couldn't have, could he? I shared a glance with North, and he appeared to be assuming the same as I.

The boy seemed to notice our shock and looked at the moon as well. "Yes! It came from the moon! The Man in the Moon!"

North looked at me, then at the boy. "What, what is your name, son?"

The boy smiled a little, beaming at North. His entire posture changed to glee; I was a little jealous, but then again North, being big Father Christmas, had the most fans.

"Jackson Overland Frost. But for short, Jack Frost is what I like to go by."

_Frost… the snow, the wind. A winter spirit. A hormonal, eighteen year-old winter spirit. _I sighed and put a paw to my forehead. _What was he thinking?_

North stood there for a moment, thinking of what to say. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Uh, my apologies Jackson-"

"Oh, you can just call me Jack." Jackson interrupts.

I bite my bottom lip as North continues. "Of course. You see Jack, Bunnymund," North gestures to me. "and I are-"

"Guardians. Yeah, I know. I've heard about you guys! I've even tried to look for you."

North and I were both surprised by this. I hadn't noticed anything around my warren, although this boy probably didn't even know where to find Australia, let alone want to go to its hot climate. North's workshop however, he probably _had _tried to find. North didn't seem to be aware of this at all.

"You've… you've looked for us?" Jack nods and smiles a little.

North rubs the back of his head, tugging at his collar. "Well, this is the first I have heard of you."

Jack takes another step back from us; the hurt expression returns to his face and the temperature drops suddenly. I hold back a shiver.

"You… haven't heard of me? I've tried to get into the North Pole multiple times!" Jack turned away and rubbed his arm nervously. "Those yetis always throw me out though."

I thought I heard North mutter under his breath a curse towards the yetis. He knew nothing of this, and something about asking them about it later. He looked back up at the winter spirit.

"I uh, I am sorry Jack. But Bunnymund, the other guardians, and I are currently dealing with a bigger problem at the moment and-" North quickly realized the mistake in his wording.

Jack narrowed his eyes. All of a sudden the staff in his hands pulsed blue, and snow began to dance around him.

"So I'm just some small issue you'll come back to at a later date?"

North's eyes widened at the sight of Jack's staff. He stepped towards the boy, motioning with his hands to calm down. "Jack, that is not what I meant."

Jack raised the staff and struck in hard into the ground and looked away from us. I slowly backed up, making my way towards North and pulling my boomerangs out of their coverings. North saw me and shook his head.

Jack looked at us again, his eyes now glowing blue with tears forming in them. "You're lying! It has been ten years since I woke up next to this cursed lake! I can't remember _anything _before waking up here and having the moon tell me who I am! I've been here, trying to find you and the other guardians for ten years and you're telling me I'm not a concern at the moment?!"

The snow circling around Jack was now picking up speed, and more snow began to fall. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped yet again. I looked towards the sky only to see the moon being covered by storm clouds. I glanced at North before turning my attention back to the upset winter spirit. He looked at us with such anger in his eyes I looked away; I felt guilt beginning to form in the back of my mind.

_How did we not know?_

"You know what? Forget it! I don't need you or the other guardians anyway! What another ten years of solitude? Or perhaps another twenty? Or how about thirty? One hundred?!" Jack flew up into the air as the weather continued to worsen. North and I stumbled back, watching the boy lose control of his powers. He cried out before looking down at us.

"Get away from my lake!" I saw Jack's eyes pulse with blue rapidly, and the storm surged outward over the forest. I looked at North.

"North! We've got to get out of here!" I crouched down and dug into the snow at my feet before tapping the ground twice with my foot. A tunnel opened up and I looked at North again. I saw him looking up at Jack sadly before turning to acknowledge me. He nods, running over and jumping down into the opening of the tunnel system below us. I look at Jack one last time before following North, closing the entrance behind me.

* * *

Soon the clouds began to separate, the snow slowly stopping and the wind calming down. A figure could be seen stumbling to his feet, walking towards the snow-cleared patch on the ground. He looked down at it sadly before collapsing on to his knees. Tears ran down his cheek slowly before dripping on to the grass. The figure sat down and pulled his knees close to his chest before burying his head in the gap between them. He began to shake, sniffling as the night dragged on.

"_I just wanted to be seen, to be heard… I'm sorry._"

**I really picture Bunnymund as being nice to Jack before the incident of the blizzard in '68. That's why his character is this way in this story. I hope it is not too OOC for him. **

**I really had fun writing this one, though the beginning was hard. The prompt was given to me by Dizzymilo on tumblr. Thank you! :D And thanks to all my prompters, followers, and reviewers, I hope to update both of my Rise of the Guardians fan fictions at least once a week. As always, reviews and critiques are welcomed!**


	4. First Night

**Thank you guys for all the positive feedback on these! It really means a lot to me to hear how much you like my writing; I honestly didn't think many people would even read them! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and continue to review! :) If you are super against spoilers (even ones that were well known before the movie was released) skip the first line. **

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During the whole ride back, the Guardians continued to congratulate Jack on becoming a true guardian; the guardian of fun. Toothiana continued to hug him and speaking enthusiastically, asking him questions about his sister while her mini-fairies squeaked happily. Sandy made dozens of sand images of all of them together happily doing many activities. North, although driving the sleigh, went on and on about what Jack could do now, joyfully trying to explain the rules of being a guardian. Even Bunnymund was proud of the boy, thanking him for keeping Jamie believing in him. It was very loud, and Jack smiled yet struggled to keep up with all the excitement. The young spirit was overwhelmed happily, but nervous.

Secretly, all of the guardians were. It had been a long time since they'd gotten a new guardian, the first one being a teenager like Jack. They weren't sure on how to treat him; they were rusty on taking care of _children. _The Sophie incident had proven that. How were they going to manage a teenager?

Most of these thoughts were pushed aside however once they landed at the pole, and soon a grand party was underway. North had ordered the yetis and elves to decorate and prepare refreshments, and they carried it out. Colorful banners and ribbon were hanging from the rafters, the smell of cookies and eggnog wafted throughout the globe room. Festive music rang out, and the elves were ringing their bells happily. Upon seeing it, Jack smiled happily, his nervous feels disappearing for the morning. The other guardians quickly pulled the boy into the fun, laughter and friendly conversation mixing with the lively setting.

Multiple groups of Tooth's fairies showed up, a few dancing with the elves. Some of Bunny's walking eggs even made their way inside, causing the yetis to be extra careful of where they walked. It was a fun filled morning. Soon however, each guardian had to leave to do their duties. First Bunnymund, and then Sandman, North wandered out of the Globe Room for a while as well.

Tooth however was the last to leave, but not without saying good bye to Jack first. She flew up to the immortal teen, giving him a tight hug. He returned the gesture before she pulled away partially. She was smiling. Baby Tooth was flying around them, squeaking happily.

"Again, congratulations Jack. You're going to make a great guardian."

Jack smiled back, blushing a little. "Thanks, Tooth."

They stayed like that awkwardly, with their hands on each other's shoulders for a couple of seconds. Baby Tooth huffed and flew behind Tooth, pushing her forward, causing Tooth's and Jack's lips to meet briefly. They jumped apart, both turning interesting shades of red. North, who had looked over at just the right moment, chuckled.

"G-Goodbye, Jack." Toothiana said quietly with a smile before flying off, whispering happily to her fairies. Jack watched her go, smiling.

"Bye Tooth…"

North walked over, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder, startling the boy. The spirit looked up at North, his blush fading. The taller man simply laughed and smiled, ruffling Jack's hair before turning and motioning towards the hall.

"Walk with me Jack, there is something we must discuss."

* * *

The two guardians walked quietly throughout the corridors of the workshop, discussing the plans for Jack now that he was a guardian. They had already discussed most of the basic rules set for being a guardian, and were now onto more specific topics.

"So Jack, where have you been taking shelter these days?" North asked

Jack looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Shelter? Oh, you mean where I sleep, right?" North nods.

"Um, anywhere I can I guess. I don't sleep very much, never really needed to you know. I mostly sleep in the trees of the forest surrounding the lake in Burgess."

North turned his head to him, surprised. "You… you haven't had a place to stay? All this time?"

Jack shrugged, nodding. "Like I said, never really needed it."

North looked away, thoughtful. He smiled. "Ah, alright. Anyways Jack, I have some business to attend to in my workshop. Why don't you hang around, explore the place? Just try not to cause any trouble, the yetis are working hard enough already."

Jack nodded, and North soon walked off. The winter spirit looked around, grinning.

_Finally; I can find out what goes on in here without being thrown out. _Jack quickly raced down one of the halls, planning out his exploration of the workshop, laughing like a school child. He ran past multiple doors, some open and some closed. He poked his head in randomly, smiling all the while. The spirit kept his promise however, not disturbing the yetis or elves as they worked; though it was hard to avoid tripping over the random elves in the middle of the floor.

Soon he came across what he assumed to be the kitchen. The elves had already cleaned up the food in the Globe Room, and it felt as if it had been hours since Jack had eaten anything, so he decided to browse through the cabinets, looking for anything that interested him. Finding multiple ingredients, he decided to make a sandwich, spreading out his supplies across the counter. After the immortal teen was done, he put everything away; cleaning up the mess he made and located a place to sit. Setting his food down, Jack looked around for a fridge, hoping there would be something other than eggnog inside of it. He quickly spotted it and walked over, opening its door and looking through its inventory.

_Eggnog, eggnog, eggnog… milk! Oh and look, chocolate syrup. Perfect. _

Jack pulled out the milk carton and the syrup bottle, and set both down next to his meal before looking for a glass. By now a few of the elves had started to watch the boy, some eyeing his food. Jack noticed them, and sharply frosted them to the ground with a smirk. He walked back over to the table where he had set everything else, putting the glass down and pouring some milk into it, followed by the chocolate syrup. Putting both away, he searched for a spoon, quickly finding one in a drawer located next to the fridge.

Walking back over to the table, he sat down and began to stir his milk, creating dinging noises every time the spoon hit the glass. The elves looked up at it, and started to ring the bells on top of their heads. Jack looked down at them curiously, and started to tap the glass with rhythm. The elves followed suit, causing the winter spirit to grin and create more complicated rhythms while eating his sandwich.

This continued until he finished eating, and took a final swig of the chocolate milk, no longer creating the dings. The elves soon dispersed, but continued to ring the bells happily. Jack smiled as he put away his dishes, rinsing them off before stacking them in the sink. Now content, Jack continued to explore the workshop enthusiastically.

* * *

North POV

I sat in my workshop, drawing up plans for one of the spare bedrooms. I fussed over every change I made, checking and double checking on what might he like or what he wouldn't. I wanted to make sure every detail was perfect; this room was going to be the deciding factor. The other guardians knew of my idea, and they all supported it. I was grateful for their support; I was still rusty with children, and this could indeed reacquaint me with them. After all, what is a better way to learn about taking care children other than to invite a teenager who knew how to have fun with kids to stay at the workshop?

Now the only thing was actually asking Jack the question.

Jack was obviously a loner; he'd been on his own for three hundred years. It couldn't have been easy, and I still felt guilt for not reaching out to him sooner. All of us guardians did, however we had been apprehensive for a reason. The winter spirit was known for his emotional lash outs, but I had hoped to work with him on that. Now was the perfect opportunity.

Finishing up my designs, I called in a few of the yetis and elves. Quickly telling them of the plan, I described what I wanted them to do. I requested the room be ready by nightfall; it shouldn't be that difficult, it only being around noon. Phil, one of the yetis I had called in, nodded and led the others out. I called out after them, handing Phil the designs.

"Do not let Jack be aware of what you are doing; I wish for it to be a surprise!"

For the rest of the day, I could not focus completely. Little bits of happiness and excitement coursed through my veins, I was eager to see the finished room and confront Jack about staying here at the Pole with me. Time seemed to drag by, however, and each time I looked towards the clock, I felt as if it were mocking me.

But then the sky fell dark, night finally coming upon the workshop. I briskly walked to the corridor where the guest rooms were located, smiling the entire way. Opening the door, I was pleased with the progress. The final details were being set in place, and I nodded. It was time to get Jack.

* * *

Jack POV

I was browsing through the many books in the Globe Room, reading the seemingly endless copies of North's previous naughty or nice lists. Lost in my own thoughts I didn't hear North walk in, and I jumped with I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. Turning around, I heard him laugh.

"Haha, sorry Jack, I didn't mean to startle you. I see you've been reading?"

I nodded, shrugging. "Yeah, I've already explored most of the workshop. It's pretty cool."

North smiled at me, seeming to know something that I did not. I raised my eyebrow; I seemed to do that a lot around him. He chuckled before patting me on the back.

"Come, Jack. I believe there is one room you have not yet seen."

We walked down the long, dark hallway for some time, and I soon recognized it to be the guest room corridor. I glanced at North, puzzled.

"The guest wing? What are we doing here?"

North grinned. "Remember our conversation this morning? About where you tended to stay whenever you need a rest?"

I thought back, focusing on the conversation. Nothing stuck out at me about it however, I looked back to North, confused. He chuckled, and we stopped in front of an elegantly-decorated 16th century wooden door. I looked it over before turning back to North. He gestured to the door knob, wishing for me to open it. I shrugged, complying and walked inside. I stopped short however once my gaze reached the interior.

The room was decorated similar to the door, however much more was the use of frost and winter designs spread throughout. I took it in slowly. The room contained multiple pieces of furniture; a single-sized bed draped in blue and white sheets with a wooden head board, a dresser with multiple snow globes on top of it, and bedside tables, one with an icicle shaped lamp. There was a large window that sat into the wall as well, a window seat underneath it. Everything was decorated in white and blue, with multiple touches of 16th century architecture.

After taking it all in, I turned back to North, who was watching me in amusement. He smiled, and asked me a question:

"Jack, how would you like to stay here at the pole with me?"

The question took me aback; I hadn't ever thought about a permanent residence. However, the idea did seem nice. Turning my head back to the room, I nodded slowly, a small smile making its way on to my face.

North laughed happily, and gave me another pat on the back.

"Glad to have ya here, Jack! Make yourself comfortable, and if you need me, you can always stop in my office." He walked out, closing the door behind him. As soon as it was fully shut, I ran around the room gleefully; it had been a long time since I could call any place my own.

Rifling through the drawers, I found multiple replicas of my wardrobe; I wondered where North could get so many blue hoodies right off the back, but hey if he can make flying trains out of ice, who said he couldn't produce clothing?

After finishing looking through everything, I leaned my staff up against the dresser and sat down on the bed. The sheets were soft, and cool to the touch. I smiled, slipping under the covers, and resting my head on the pillow. I turned my body to face the window, and watched the moon shine brightly. Closing my eyes, I whispered quietly.

"You know, maybe this won't be so bad."

My sleep was anything but peaceful.

Nightmares continued to wrack my brain, and eventually I shot up in the bed, breathing heavily. I pulled my knees into my chest, hugging my legs close to me. It felt childish, but it was comforting knowing I was at least inside North's workshop.

I continued to try and sleep, but every time I closed my eyes the nightmares returned. I found myself wishing for the presence of another person, and sat up, looking at the door. Biting my lower lip, I crawled out of the bed and made my way into the hallway. The darkness of the shadows didn't help my mindset, and I quickly made my way to North's office. I hesitated to knock; it had to be early in the morning. What if he was asleep? I didn't want to disturb him.

_Jack, you're being childish. Just go back to bed; they're only nightmares. Pitch is long gone, and you are a guardian now. They have accepted you. Relax. _A little voice in the back of my mind said. I shook my head gently, trying to clear it. I sighed, and turned around to walk back to my room when the door creaked open. I twisted back, and pushed the door open, walking in quietly.

"North?" I called out in a hushed whisper. He wasn't at his work desk, and he wasn't in front of the fireplace. My shoulders sagged a little, and turned around to exit the room when footsteps approached me. I looked back, and saw North walking out from behind one of his creations.

"Jack? Are you alright? Is there something you needed?"

I looked at my feet sheepishly, muttering under my breath.

North didn't catch what I said. "What was that?"

"I said I-I uh, had a nightmare…" I looked up, feeling tears starting to form in my eyes partially out of embarrassment and partially out of fear. North walked over to me, putting an arm around me. He smiled gently.

"How about I stay with you while you try to sleep? Would that help some?"

I nodded, and we made our way back to my bedroom.

Once I was situated in the bed, North pulled over a chair and at down. He had brought a book with him, and opened it promptly to read. I looked at him, feeling exhaustion pulling me into sleep.

"Hey North?"

He looked up from his book, eyes comforting but questioning.

"Thank you, for everything." He smiled, nodding.

"You're welcome, Jack."


	5. You Only Live Once

**SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU DO NOT KNOW OF JACK FROST'S BACK STORY.  
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**Title: **You Only Live One

**Protagonist: **_Colonial_ Jackson Overland Frost

**Summary: **Every night that month long month of August he had the same dream, the nightmare, and each time he would wake up before hitting bottom. He didn't tell anyone, no one needed to know. And one night, he decides to conquer his nightmare. And from that point, he decided to live life to its fullest extent, subconsciously knowing what was going to happen that winter.

* * *

I sat up suddenly, breathing harsh and uneven. The nightmare had returned, just like it had for the entire summer.

Trying to calm myself, I turned and slowly got out of my bed, feet lightly gracing the warm wooden floor of my room. I looked up at the only window, and saw the moon, full and still shining in the dark, early morning sky. I inwardly groaned and collapsed back onto the bed, a feeling of exhaustion overcoming me. I was unsure of how much sleep I had lost to this god-forsaken nightmare, but it sure had taken its toll on me.

I hadn't told mother or father about it yet, and I didn't plan to. I did not want them worrying about such a silly thing as a bad dream. Winter was coming soon, and everyone was getting prepared. I hadn't even told my little sister, for fear she would too start having nightmares.

After lying on the bed uncomfortably for a short amount of time, I re-adjusted my body under the covers and attempted to sleep. However, each time my eyes shut darkness would swallow me and the nightmare started again. I sighed, and sat upright. No sleep for me tonight, once again.

Crawling out of the warm bed, I slowly walked out of my room and down the narrow hall of our little home, headed for the living room. I was sure my sister and parents were still asleep, and not wanting to wake them, I slipped quickly and quietly out the front door. It was completely dark outside, except for the few areas where the moon shined its bright glow. After observing no one was around, I headed out of the village and into the dense forest, smiling as the soft feeling of grass under my feet replaced the roughness of the dirt path.

Walking along the well-worn trail through the woods, I smiled to myself contently. Everything was quiet, calm, and for once in this long, seemingly sleep-less month, I welcomed the darkness around me. I felt safe hidden between the trees, memories of playing inside my mind. Memories with the other children of the village out here when I was younger; hunting, fishing, and learning the ways of the forest with my father; and more recently, playing multiple games with Elizabeth and her friends out in the forest.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost fell over the edge of the rocky cliff I had wandered out onto. Looking down at the lake below me, I felt fear creeping up my spine. Slowly, I climbed down the rocks and stood directly in front of the water line. Images of the nightmare started to appear in my brain; an image of myself thrashing out at the water, only to continue sinking as my lungs yearned for air, Elizabeth screaming my name from somewhere above me.

I shuddered and pushed the thoughts away, telling myself that it was only a dream. I knew how to swim; in fact I was pretty good at it. It made no sense that I would drown, and yet I still felt afraid of the water.

There was only one way to get over this new fear, and so I took off my cloak and waist-jacket, tossing them aside silently. I breathed in and out deeply, and started to walk into the water, chills from its cold temperature making me shiver slightly. I felt the water up to my waist, and I promised myself I wasn't going to back out now.

Slowly the water level climbed up to my shoulders, and with a split second decision, I held my breath, closed my eyes, and went under the surface. I started to feel panic rising in my chest, but I quickly calmed myself, opening my eyes in the water. Ignoring the mild burning sensation I got in return, I took in the underwater scenery.

The moon's light was able to penetrate through the water, shining on the rocks and dirty, sloped lake floor. A few fish could be seen drifting in the tiny currents, seemingly unaware of my presence. My lungs soon started to burn for air, and I took one final glance in front of me before pushing myself back above the water. I inhaled sharply, grateful for the warm air that blew throughout the clearing as I quickly started to shiver once again, but not from fear this time. I smiled, knowing that I would no longer be afraid of the water.

I swam to the edge of the lake and stood up before trying unsuccessfully to shake the water off of my clothes. I groaned, and swiftly pulled off my shirt and wringed it out, watching as the water dripped onto the shore. Looking down at my pants, I decided against trying to dry them off and simply head back to the cottage. I got re-dressed, and looked at the water one last time.

As I walked away from the lake, I couldn't help but notice how at ease I felt. Everything just felt _right. _I was no longer worried about the nightmare, about the water, I wasn't even worried about my soaked pants. I smiled, and let out a joyous laugh. I turned on my heels and raced back over to the rocks, starting to climb them again. I carelessly jumped from ledge to ledge, simply chuckling whenever my grip would slip. I reached the top within seconds, and let out a cheer standing on top as if I had just climbed a mountain.

I tilted my head up, and smiled at the full moon. It seemed to shine even brighter than before, and I felt the wind pick up speed, blowing in the direction of the village. Surprised, I felt my smile fade as the glow of the moon dimmed a little. As I turned to follow the wind, I could've sworn I heard someone, talking in a hushed, calm voice:

_Return home; enjoy life to its fullest extent, Jack. Have fun, you only live once._

And for some unknown reason, I turned back to the moon and smiled, nodding.

Slowly I made my way back home, coming up with tons of new games for Elizabeth and I to play this coming winter. As soon as I got home, I pulled out my quill, ink, and writing pad to create a list.

And at the top of the list was ice skating.


	6. A Visit in the Spring

**Short drabble! I'm at home sick with nothing better to do. An anon suggested a Bunny and Soph one-shot, so here you go! :)**

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The sun was shining brightly through the gaps in the treetop-covered forest, making the forest glow with light in the early morning of a day in late April. All around, greenery pulsed with life; the leaves of trees just beginning to bud, grass reclaiming the ground as whatever snow remained melted, berries hanging off bushes, flowers blooming in groups, filling the forest with color. Rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and mice all explored the ground, deer, foxes, and the occasional bear scavenging for food.

Everything was at peace, nature finally bringing spring.

Bunnymund inhaled slowly, taking in all of the newly-arrived vegetation. Smiling, he leisurely strolled through the forest, observing nature at its finest.

"Ah, spring. Finally! Frostbite actually let the seasons change on schedule!" Chuckling, the Pooka sat down in a patch of grass, leaning against one of the many trees surrounding him. A much smaller rabbit soon poked its head out from under a bush, and hopped over to Bunnymund, who in turn began to scratch behind its ears.

"Ya know what? Jack ain't too bad; he's takin' his role as a Guardian pretty seriously. He is really actin' like he wants this... Maybe I should've learned to trust him sooner. Heh, would've saved me a lot of trouble back in '68..." He trailed off as his ears shifted, detecting a disturbance. The small rabbit quickly raced back into the foliage as Bunnymund stood up and looked around cautiously.

Slowly, he began to walk toward the source of the noise, placing a paw on one of his boomerangs. Just as he was about to yell out a warning, a high-pitched squeal of joy pierced the air.

"Bunny!"

The bushes parted suddenly as young Sophie raced towards the guardian, giggling happily. Spreading her arms out, she wrapped herself around one of his legs and looked up at him with a grin.

"Whoa! Hey there, lil' ankle-biter!" Bunnymund reached down and scooped Sophie into his arms, earning a fit of laughter from the child in the process. "How ya been? Did you enjoy Easter this year?"

The little girl nodded. "Uh huh! I even got more eggs than Jamie did!"

The Pooka smiled, chuckling. "Awesome, mate! How many did ya get?"

Sophie brought both of her hands on front of her and started to count off with her fingers before throwing her arms up in the air. "Like twenty! It was a lot!"

"That is a lot, good job!" Bunnymund smiled again, and moved the child so she was on his back. Sophie quickly realized what he was doing and grabbed onto his fur.

"Race, race!" the child yelled between giggles.

Nodding, the Guardian got down onto all fours, ready to spring off into the foliage. "Ready?"

The little girl pulled at his fur as if it were a control for a car, causing Bunnymund to grimace slightly before recovering.

"Go!"

The Pooka took off, racing farther into the forest, laughter trailing the two beings all the way on their adventure through the trees.


	7. History Tends to Repeat Itself

**Sorry for the inactivity, guys! I've recently picked up roleplaying and well, its just so much fun to do! I am working on my stories though, I promise. I have encountered a bit of a writer's block, and honestly I'm not all too happy with this one-shot. But I also loved the plot of it, so I am posting it anyway. **

**Also, for all those prompts, I will get to them or maybe not. I have over thirty. And one more thing, I will start replying to reviews now that I have a bit more time! ;D  
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**This one-shot was simply something I came up with after seeing a particular picture on tumblr. Its also in my deviantART favorites RotG folder, and I'm pretty sure you'll be able to tell which one. Enjoy~!  
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"Come on, Sophie! We gotta get there before dark!" I shouted back to her as she staggered after me, a smile plastered on her face. I could hardly contain my excitement; we had _finally _convinced Mom to let us go skating, and we were currently on our way to do so on this cold, December day.

With my skates slung over my back, I raced farther ahead of my sister and down into the clearing where the lake stood, surface frozen solid. I smiled wide, and sat down before kicking off my shoes, pulling the skates off my shoulder and onto my feet. I stood up and tested my balance, leaning back and forth of them with my arms extended.

Sophie ran down to me, sliding in the snow and falling to her bottom. She giggled and grabbed her own skates, taking off her shoes and pulling the skates on. Looking up at me, she grinned shyly.

"Can you tie them, Jamie?"

I smiled and nodded, leaning down to help her tie the laces, looping the strings around each other. Once I made sure they were tied, I sat back up and extended my hand to her, helping her to her feet. Slowly, we made our way to the ice where I put my hand out in front of her.

"Wait, let me test it first." I prompted, and she nodded, stepping back slightly. I was hesitant as I put one foot on the ice, slowly shifting weight onto it, and lifted my other foot onto the frozen surface. I crept out onto the ice, watching and listening for any change in the ground below me; there was none.

I looked back to Sophie, who was now standing with her hands behind her and rocking back and forth. I smiled, and waved her forward with my hand. "You can come on! Its safe!"

Her face lit up and she eagerly staggered out onto the ice, clumsy in her skates. I held back a laugh as she slipped and slid over to me, nearly falling over. I reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, letting my laughter out. She tried to hide behind her hair, and I smiled again, moving her hair out of her face. "Oh come on, Soph. Here, I'll help you."

I moved my grip down to her hands, and I felt her grasp them in response. I slowly moved my feet, pulling her along with me. I started by just getting her moving, going left and right, up and down on the ice. Soon, I let go of one hand and gently swung her around me, and I heard her starting to giggle. She released her grip, and started skating on her own, twirling around slowly as our laughter filled the air.

"See! There you go! You got it!" I cheered, and started doing tricks of my own. I picked up speed and skated around her in circles, letting my feet take over. I made figure-eights, tried to do full turns, I even tried to jump once, and landed shakily on my feet but lost all momentum. Sophie did the same, trying to mimic my movements, but achieved very few of the tricks. All the same, she had a smile of joy on her face.

Now we were both in closer to the center of the lake, enjoying ourselves, yelling and screaming and falling down. By now it was a little after four in the afternoon, and the sun was already beginning to set. I could hear Sophie's teeth chattering, and I felt myself getting chills. I slowed down, and started to stretch out my arms when I heard a small gasp. I turned around, and I felt terror make its way into my mind.

Standing farther out in front of me was my little sister, cowering in fear as she balanced on a patch of _cracked _ice. My breath caught in my throat, and I saw tears starting to run down her face as stared at the frozen lake. Panic started to rise in my chest, but I shoved it down and forced myself to speak.

"S-Shh, Sophie, everything is going to be okay, alright?" I spoke softly, reaching my hands toward my little sister. Her head shot up, and she started to shake.

"N-No its not..." I shook my head, and smiled softly.

"Shh, you're going to be okay. I promise. Just, don't move," I looked around, hoping to find something that would help me in this situation; not even a twig could be seen with all the snow. I swallowed slowly, hand going to the back of my head as I scratched it thoughtfully. My arm brushed my scarf, and an idea formed in my head.

Quickly, I pulled off my scarf and unraveled it, and tossed one end out as far as it could go. I bit my lip as it only made it halfway to Sophie, and I looked at her, noticing her scarf. I grinned partially.

"Sophie, take off your scarf and toss it towards me!"

She looked at me, face still wet with tears as she nodded and slowly removed her scarf. She balled it up and threw it over as hard as she could without shifting her weight. It landed on the end of my own, and I quickly pulled it in, picking it and the end of my scarf up. I wrapped the end of her scarf around my own, pulling it tightly into a knot. I smiled and looked up at my sister, and opened my mouth to say something when another noise rang out.

_CRACK. _

My eyes widened as the ice split, and Sophie screamed, jumping back as part of the ice collapsed under her. My heart stopped as I screamed out her name.

"SOPHIE!" I threw one end of the scarf towards her and held the other tightly in my hand, and I felt my breath return when she caught. it.

However the joy was short lived, as her footing slipped and I watched my little sister fall into the icy waters, her head plunging under the ice. I lunged forward, no longer caring for my own safety as I screamed in horror. I reached my hands into the water trying to get a hold of her, and panic filled me when I couldn't find anything to grab.

"No, no, no no no!" I cried, and banged my hands on the ice, desperately wishing it had I who had fallen in instead. Tears ran down my face and I buried my head in my hands.

Suddenly a shadow fell directly over me, and my head shot up, hoping to see someone who could help. My hope was fulfilled as I saw Jack flying straight towards me, and I instantly called out to him. "Jack! Jack! Sophie fell in!"

I saw his eyes widen, and I literally felt the temperature drop at least ten degrees before it shot back up as he rushed to my side. He stood staring at the whole in the ice for a moment, and then jumped in. I felt my heart nearly burst.

"Jack!"

I scampered away from the whole in the ice, kicking off my skates as I did, but I did not let my gaze drift from it for a moment. I stood up shakily, hands clenched in fists.

My breathing became harsh with each second that passed, and I was about to race back over to the water when a figure flew out. My heart pounded against my rib cage as I recognized it as Jack, and a smile quickly returned to my face when I saw Sophie in his arms. He looked down at me and then pointed his head back towards the town. I nodded and quickly ran off the lake as he flew as fast as he could ahead of me, cradling my unconscious little sister in his arms. I sprinted after him, praying that he had gotten her out of the water in time.

Once we reached the town, Jack veered off towards my house, and I did the same. Taking as many short cuts as I knew, I reached it quickly and ran inside, grabbing the phone and dialing 911. Jack landed in my backyard and wasted no time rushing inside and handing the Sophie to me. He then raced around the house grabbing coats and blankets as I talked to the operator.

Shortly after hanging up the phone, my mother walked in the front door and I yelled to her, causing her to sprint over and take Sophie from me. She quickly pulled the wet clothes off of her and wrapped her in the pile of blankets and coats Jack had collected. He stood next to me now, his grip on my shoulder comforting but growing harder with each minute.

Soon I could hear the ambulance outside, and my mother commanded me to go to the door and lead them back to her and Sophie. I did so without hesitation, and watched as the paramedics worked over my sister before putting her on a stretcher and placing her in the ambulance. My mother climbed in after her, and sharply told the paramedics that I was coming as well after they said I needed to stay.

They let me ride shotgun as we drove to the hospital, but I hardly paid attention to anything around me as I stared out the window fretting about my sister, watching Jack fly down the road next to us.

When we reached the hospital, the doctors came and took my sister away. My mother demanded to go with them, but was told no, so she sat me down in the waiting room and told me that she needed to make a few calls and I was to stay put. As she walked into the ladies room, I sat upright in my chair, unable to take my eyes off the door behind where my sister had disappeared. Jack appeared next to me, face as rigid as mine. We sat there in silence for a good ten minutes before he finally spoke.

"Jamie, I'm-"

"It's my fault." I cut him off, finally muttering the words I had been thinking since he rescued her. I glared at the far wall, anger at myself rising in my chest. I felt Jack rest a hand on my shoulder, but I refused to look at him; I knew what he was going to say.

That didn't stop him from saying it. "Jamie, don't think that. It is not your fault; it's not _anyone's _fault. You couldn't have known the ice was thin there. Please, do not blame yourself."

I clenched my hands into fists and moved my gaze to the ground. Part of me knew the winter spirit was right, but I couldn't shake the anger I felt. The room seemed to get darker as the voice in my head kept screaming at me.

_It's your fault! It's ALL your fault! It was your idea to take her out there, you should've kept an eye on her! _

I smacked my hands over my ears and shut my eyes tightly, wishing for the voice to stop. I felt Jack touch my shoulder again, this time both of his hands firmly grasping my shoulders. He shook me, trying to pull me out of my thoughts. My eyes flew open, and I found myself staring into his worry-filled eyes. I felt my eyes begin to tear up, unable to pull away from his gaze. His expression softened, and I let him pull me into a hug. Silently, I gave in, returning the gesture and started to cry. He picked me up and sat in the chair I had previously been in. He held me close.

"Jamie, it's not your fault." he whispered softly, and I felt his head rest on mine. I thought I felt something wet drip into my hair, and I looked up slowly, only to find Jack's eyes wet with tears as he stared at nothing. I sniffled, and pulled away slightly, sensing there was something he wasn't telling me.

"J-Jack, what are you thinking about?" The winter spirit let out a shaky sigh, and looked at me.

"I uh, need to tell you something, kiddo." I raised an eyebrow at him, and he repositioned me in his lap before sighing once again.

"Did…did I ever tell you of how I became Jack Frost?"

A half hour had passed before my mother finally returned to the waiting room. By then Jack and I were sitting in our seats again, both of our eyes red and faces stained with tears. I was thankful for Jack sharing part of his history, but I can't deny the fact that it made me worry more for my sister.

Another half hour passed before a man came over to us and pulled my mother aside to talk to her. I watched them, but did my best not to read their lips; I was too afraid to hear the news. Jack must have noticed, because he ruffled my hair as he watched them as well.

I felt my heart skip a beat as my mother started crying again, my mind instantly jumping to the worst possible conclusion, but I quickly calmed down when I saw the smile underneath the tears. My own eyes watered again as well, and I let out a shaky breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I heard Jack do the same next to me and ruffle my hair again before he leaned back into his chair, smiling at the ceiling muttering _she's okay _quietly.

As my mother came back over, I jumped out of my chair and ran to her, stopping her in her tracks. She leaned down and gave me a hug, and quickly took my hand. We followed a nurse down a long hallway before stopping at a closed door, Jack right beside me. The nurse smiled gently and opened the door, reminding us to be quiet before stepping out of the way.

There inside, lying on the bed was Sophie, sleeping soundly and safe. My mother slowly approached the bed, and I could hear her holding back a sob. I stood back, letting my mom see her first. Jack stayed next to me, resting a hand on my shoulder. I smiled, glad he had stayed.

I watched as my mother slowly relaxed, running her fingers through Sophie's hair, talking to her quietly. Ten minutes passed before a doctor came into the room and requested to speak with my mother again. She nodded and followed him, smiling at me and motioning toward my sister. I nodded and quickly went over to the bed, where Jack quickly picked me up and set be on the end of it. I let the tears fall once more, relief flooding me again. I turned to the Guardian.

"Thanks, Jack." He ruffled my hair again, looking at Sophie happily.

"It was nothing, kiddo."


	8. Feathers and Furballs

**GUESS WHO'S BACK? **

**;)**

**After my long writer's block, a prompt and a few sad faces pushed me to write this. Warning, very fluffy and shippy. But it's good (in my opinion), so I'd love if you'd give it a read. Thank you guys for all the support, the reviews, and the follows & faves! I don't have enough time to respond to them all, but you should know I love reading each message.**

I stayed well hidden in Bunnymund's warren; it's amazing how I seemed to know more hiding spots then he did. And how to lay out a better trap, too. You'd think he would've learned by now.

"FROSTBITE!" I heard the kangaroo before I saw him, and once he came into view, I could barely contain my laughter from where I hid in the bush.

It seems my prank worked, for Bunnymund was _covered _in pink, blue, green, and purple dye; staining his fur to make him look like a "true" spring spirit. A few dozen eggs trailed behind the Pooka worriedly, trying to console their master. He simply shooed them away, and continued to look around in rage, more than likely trying to decide how he'd kill me.

So, I decided to high-tail it out of there, letting the wind sweep me up and out one of the tunnel's. I floated around for a bit, (hopefully) letting the Pooka calm down a bit before he found me. I grew bored of simply hanging in the breeze however; I got bored easily. However, an idea popped into my mind. There was someone I had been meaning to visit.

I shifted in the current, and called out my desired location,

"Hey, Wind!" I instantly felt the rush of air wrap around me, a comforting old friend. I laughed as it sent me skyward, already seeming to know where I wished to go, "Take me to Tooth Palace!"

It didn't take long at all to reach the Tooth Fairy's home, and as soon as I drew near, I was overwhelmed by a swarm of the mini-fairies. Baby Tooth was a among them, and she instantly landed atop of my head, taking her place as always. I laughed softly and flashed a smile for the little creatures. A few of them swooned and dropped before catching themselves. _Heh, I don't think I'll ever get tired of that. _

Once I finally got inside (and attacked by more of the mini-fairies), I looked around for their leader, and for some reason grew hot, and strangely, nervous.

_Oh come on Frost, accept that you have feelings for already! Stubborn-sprite. _I thought to myself as Tooth appeared around the corner. I smiled at her, and my heart jumped a bit as she smiled back and flew over, pulling me into one of her well-known twirl hugs. Not that I minded, I enjoyed them, even if physical contact was still a bit new to me. As she pulled away, I grinned, feeling my cheeks grow warm.

"Hey Jack, what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be in the northern hemisphere." she smirked, "You know, making it winter?"

I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head sheepishly, the blush refusing to go away. "Well I think they have enough snow for now. I...I just wanted to visit."

Her eyes feel to my cheeks, and I saw her own start to redden as well. My heart beat picked up, and I'm pretty sure my ears turned the same shade of blue as my cheeks were. I attempted to laugh, trying to lighten the mood, only for it to come out a bit strangled. Tooth giggled, and started to turn away, smiling shyly when Baby Tooth (accompanied by a few of the others) knocked into me and sent me towards Tooth, and another group did the same to her.

Our heads knocked together and for a moment, our lips met. Shivers flew up my spine and Tooth's feathers ruffled, and we pulled apart, both wide eyed and blushing like mad. We both laughed nervously, and I managed to open my mouth after what seemed like an eternity.

"W-Well, um, heh, uh-"

Tooth rushed forward suddenly, her arms wrapping around my neck and pulling me into her as she kissed my lips. I stood there rigid for a moment, before relaxing and putting my arms around her waist (or, the best I could with her wings moving) and leaning into the kiss. I couldn't believe it! Everything else faded away, and he completely forgot about the prank he had just pulled.

That was until something hit him in the back of the head, hard. His vision blurred and he pulled away, the kiss had only lasted what, five, ten seconds? Or what it longer? His head throbbed now, and he put his hand to it, turning around slowly as Tooth switched from "Shut up and kiss" to "Oh my god you're dying let me help".

Of course, it was the kangaroo.

As soon as I hopped out of the ground, I could hardly believe my eyes.

For a moment, I thought it was a trick of the light, or some of the dye was still clouding my vision. But both were false, and I hardly believed it. I was half aware of throwing my boomerang at the winter spirit's head, already making my way over to them. Tooth fluttered back a bit, only to quickly stand in front of Jack, helping him remain on his feet. Perhaps I hit him too hard? He was just barely able to train his eyes on me. But at the moment, I didn't care.

As I walked over towards them, Tooth opened her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it and looked me over, and tried to hide a giggle.

"Bunny, why are you covered in-"

I pointed at Jack, who was now shaking his head, seeming to be regaining his senses. I glared at him. "Him. His stupid prank. Comin' into my Warren and decidin', "Hey, let's get frost and paint everywhere. Bunny won't mind!" He has crossed the line this time," I responded through clenched teeth, "He may be a Guardian now, but he sure ain't behavin' like one!"

Tooth simply rolled her eyes at me, only causing my anger to grow more.

"And what was that?!" I growled, referring to the _moment _the two had just shared. A blush appeared on both of their cheeks, and I gripped my boomerangs, ready to knock 'em both out. Tooth seemed to notice, and hesitantly laid a her hand over my paw as she fluttered closer to me.

"Bunny... you and I both agreed a long, long time ago that we'd tried. We both agreed it didn't work." she whispered softly, just loud enough for me to hear. The anger drained out of me, and I let my arms drop, the feelings that had arose just moments ago crashing to the pit of my stomach. I remembered that conversation. I didn't like it, but I remembered it.

Now it was my turn to act sheepish. "Uh, right," I looked to Jack, who was now looking like he was ready to fly off a moment's notice, and sighed. I hated when Tooth was right. I cleared my throat and straightened up a bit. "Ehm, sorry, Fros- Jack."

He looked at me, and smiled shyly. "Its, its all good, Cottontail. I deserved it, for the prank anyway." I chuckled, causing him to laugh softly. Tooth smiled at the both of us.

"Well now that _that _is settled, ehm," she rose up a bit, the blush returning to her cheeks as she looked at Jack. "I have some teeth to collect," she turned to me, "Bunny, you might want to try and wash out you're fur," she turned back to the winter spirit, the blush not leaving, "And Jack, you might want to get back to making it winter in the north." She nodded, as if to herself, and then took off to one of the other towers.

Jack and I shared a glance. I couched as he pulled at his hoodie's collar, both feeling the awkward slowly fade from around us.

I tapped my foot against the ground, opening my way home. Jack watched, leaning on his staff.

"Ehm, sorry, for uh, the dye. Its washable, don't worry." I chuckled.

"It's alright, mate. It was a good prank, I'll give ya that." he smiled, and started to turn as the wind picked up. I bit my lip.

"Ey, Jack, "

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Be good to her," I murmured, "you two uh, well ya look cute together."

His face glowed blue and he chuckled softly. "I will, Bunny."

I smiled, and I could tell that he meant it. "Good," I turned to hop into the tunnel, but looked back one last time. "Oh, and she likes to be called Feathers."

At the look of confusion on the teen's face before he smiled, I let out a laugh and hopped away.

…**.and that's enough fluff for now. ;) **

**More will be coming soon; I have TONS of ideas just waiting. Read and review!**


	9. Even the Lost Eventually Find Their Way

'**Eyyyyy~ Long time no see!**

**Sorry about that guys, I've been um…really down in the dumps. I've been depressed, actually. Still am. This story was a way for me to get some built up feelings out after a breakdown yesterday…it feels good to write for myself. I've started another new story too, so keep an eye out for it. I plan to finish it and then upload it, making a weekly update. I think it'll be good. I hope anyway.**

**So yeah, enjoy! C:**

* * *

"I'm sorry!" I snapped, "I'm sorry I've messed everything up! I know I'm not as good as you want me to be; I'm an awful friend and just I'm sorry!"

I hung up the phone abruptly and threw it at my bedroom wall. I heard a sickening _crack_ as it struck the surface, but I didn't care. She wasn't going to call back anyways.

No one ever did.

I pressed my hands up against my ears; the voices were talking to me again. Yelling. Screaming. I couldn't stand it any longer; I was done.

Rushing out of my room and down the stairs, I wiped away the tears that had formed in my eyes. They'd already started to slide down my cheeks. I hated it.

_'I shouldn't be crying...I don't have a good enough reason to.'_

I needed to calm down, I needed to stop, I needed to sit down and just breathe.

But I couldn't.

I threw the back door open and ran outside, feeling the tears start up again. God I hated crying, I'd done so much of it recently I thought I would cry myself out. Seems I was out of luck on that, along with hundreds of other things.

Running past my fence, I forced myself to slow down. What was I doing? Why am I out here?

My thoughts scared me.

I needed help. I realized I was _scared._ I was scared of _myself._ I wanted to talk with someone, someone who'd never ignore me.

So I went to the best place; the forest.

I knew my friends here could help; they always seemed to be able to. They'd never meant to steer me wrong, right? Surely they'd have some advice on what to do; there was no way I could go to my mother for it. Now, I just had to find them.

"Bunny? Jack?" I called out, "Nightlight?"

Nothing.

I bit my lip. "E-Emily? J-Jackson? L-Lucille?"

Silence.

Tears fell from my eyes. "A-Anyone?"

* * *

It was dark now. I wasn't sure how long I'd been out here now, wandering around the shadow-covered woods, waiting for someone to come and hear me.

But no one ever did.

I had stopped. I was on my knees, my arms wrapped around me when something finally snapped. I became furious.

"Y-You know what..." I muttered, "I-I don't need them...I d-don't need anyone..."

I frowned, pushing myself up. I glared around angrily at the trees, as if they were real people.

"You h-hear that? I d-don't need anyone! No one cares anyway, I can g-get along on my own! J-Just you watch!" I screeched.

"I DON'T NEED ANY OF YOU!"

Silence.

My throat hurt. My eyes were undoubtedly red from crying. I was tired...

_Snap_.

I whipped around, looking into the shadows. Someone was there.

I sniffled, raising an arm to wipe my face. "G-Go away w-whoever you are...I-I want to be alone."

"But you don't really, Sophie. That's not what you really want."

I tensed up, taking a step back.

'That voice...no, it can't be...'

"But it is, Sophie."

Two golden eyes flashed in the darkness. A figure formed from the black, taking shape in the form of a tall, thin man. I recognized him instantly.

"Pitch Black," I spat out, "What do you want?"

He looked a bit offended. "What I want? My child, I want nothing more than to help you achieve what you want."

My eyes went wide in surprise. He, he wanted to help me?

_'Surely he doesn't mean...h-he can't know about...'_

We stood silent for a moment, staring at each other awkwardly.

I sighed, rubbing my arm. "Y-You...you can do that?"

He nodded. "I can."

"...You'd do that just because I'd want you to?"

"Yes, I would."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Many reasons."

"I'm assuming some of those reasons are to your advantage?"

"It is a possibility."

We fell silent again.

I looked away. Did...did I really want that? _'Pitch could easily do it for me...I'm sure he'd make it painful; long. But, maybe that's what I'd deserve. I am too weak to do it myself...'_

_**But what about your friends? Your family?**_ the little voice in my head spoke up; suddenly it wasn't as harsh as it had been recently.

_'Heh, what friends. They're all gone...they don't care.'_

_**Because you pushed them away. They wanted, they still want to help you, but you're not letting them dear. **_

_'You're lying. They don't want to help...they just feel like they have to. No one ever really wants to help...and no one ever will...'_

"I'm here to help you, child." Pitch's voice rang out in my mind, "I'm here to give you what you want; something I know you've been thinking about for a while now.

"Your fear keeps growing; I can sense it. You want all of it to go away...I can do that for you. No one will ever know the truth; all blame will go on me. You know that.

He looked at me. "So, what do you say?"

He extended his hand out to me. Swirls of dark sand swam around it, mimicking those in his nightmares.

I bit my lip. I actually hesitated. What if all of this really _was _wrong? What if it does get better?

_Too late. _

I'd taken his hand and shook it with a nod, as if in a daze.

"Okay."

He smiled, but it seemed...sad. It surprised me. I had expected him to me happy; to smirk or grin evilly. Instead, he looked almost disappointed, as if he wished for me to have said "Actually, no, never mind..."

Pitch was a man of his word though. I found myself being pulled forward by something; I couldn't see what. My vision had gone blurry, dimming out until it was black.

I felt someone or something take hold of my arms, my legs, my shoulders. I couldn't move. I became scared again, but there was nothing I could do.

The loud ringing in my ears that I hadn't eve realized was there suddenly stopped. Silence and darkness surrounded me. I felt cold, alone, and scared.

Then, pain.

Sharp, loud, boiling pain.

Something had pierced my abdomen, and the pain was excruciating. I gasped, having nothing else to do.

And then I could see again.

I looked down out of instinct and grew sick.

A black, twisting mass of dark sand in the shape of a dagger was lodged in my stomach, and I could see both blood and the darkness seeping out of the wound. It burned throughout my entire body; my skin was turning ashen as the darkness spread. I felt like I was suffocating; I couldn't breathe.

_'I'm dying...,'_ I thought,_ 'I'm really dying...'_

Is this really what I had wanted? I wasn't sure anymore. My thoughts became a jumbled mess, each one demanding attention. My head throbbed.

It was too late to stop it, not that I was sure I wanted to. But, I couldn't believe it.

_I was really dying._

I fell to my knees again, losing the ability to stand. Everything felt numb...Somehow I was able to turn my head; somehow I was able to find Pitch in the dark chaos around us. He still had the smile of sadness on his face as he stood back, watching.

I coughed, parting my lips.

"I-I'm...s-sorry..."

He was next to me now, knelt down with one hand in front of my forehead and the other in front of his mouth with his index finger raised.

"Shh, child...It'll be alright."

I felt a finger run down my forehead and in between my eyes. For a moment, all the pain stopped. I felt nothing, could do nothing but stare into the Nightmare King's sad eyes.

Then, everything burst into white as I heard his final words to me,

"You're forgiven."

* * *

It was bright and light, like a summer's day. She felt happy.

She didn't know exactly where she was; she didn't remember how she'd gotten there either. It was green and pink and blue, spring colors. It had certain...magical quality to it.

It was alive, happy.

Sophie smiled.

The girl was four again. Her perfect world was in the Warren. And off in the distance, figures stood waiting with open arms, calling her to them.

She was happy.

She was home.

* * *

_Author's Note: To anyone who is suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts, just remember that you are not alone. There are those who will care, who will listen. I am one of them, as I understand what it feels like._

_If you're ever in desperate need to talk to someone, you can always call the Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255(For US) and my inbox is always open. No one should go through it alone_


	10. Remembrance

It wasn't hard to figure out the rest of my memories after Tooth gave me full permission to keep the box. I, I had a feeling she wanted me to share what I saw but...I told her I wasn't ready, that maybe another time. She believed me, and with sort of a sad smile, flew back up to preform her duties.

Honestly, I don't think I'd ever be ready to tell her or...or any of them what I saw.

It's not like it's a common thing to tell someone you died saving your little sister. That you drowned giving up your life for another. I didn't even know how the others became Guardians or what they were like before. I, I guess part of me wanted them to share their stories first, maybe it'd make sharing mine a little easier. Perhaps I could try to tell them about my death around the date I actually died, maybe it'd just push me to talk about it.

But when that date rolled around, I couldn't bring myself to even bother to come face-to-face with any of them.

Instead, I sat by my lake in silence, and stared out at the ice.

It...It was weird, sitting here, trying to force myself to remember why I'd even brought her out to the lake when it was so close to spring. Was it my idea? Was it hers? Our mother, whose name I still hadn't been able to pinpoint, had given us permission, so I guess it was something she didn't mind us doing. But, did I even check the ice before we went out on it's frozen surface? Did I make sure we'd both be okay?

I, I guess not. I was sitting here now, after all. Alone. A simple spirit. The spirit of a boy who drowned in a lake.

_"But, you did save your sister," _a little voice in my head spoke out. _"Because of you, she lived to see another sunset, another sunrise."_

I closed my eyes and rested my head on my knees. It was right...I had saved her...

But then another thought popped up in my head.

"If...she didn't die on the ice with me...then..." I paused looking up to the sky, now dark and filled with the stars of the night, silently surrounding the bright, almost-full moon.

"If she didn't die when I drowned, then when _did _she die?"

* * *

And thus, I started my journey on researching just about everything I could about my sister's life.

It was hard at first. I didn't even know her _name._ I couldn't remember her name, and that really irritated me. Man-In-Moon hadn't given me back any of my memories, though I'm not sure why I expected him to. It would have been nice, like a gift for doing what he created me for.

Ah well, mystical little aliens miles and miles away on a rock. What can you do?

Eventually I figured out that in Burgess's town hall there was this thing called "records", aka thousands of papers dating back to when the town was first settled that included when everyone was born, baptized, wedded, and died.

So it took me a little while to go through and find mine -turns out my middle name is Finnegan and Overland was truly my last name- let alone then go through and find my mother's, whose name was Elaine Joy Overland and died of old age peacefully in her sleep; my father's, Johnathon Matthews Overland who died fighting the native Indians of this area. Then I had to combine their information to find my sister's.

Her name was Elizabeth Sophia Overland.

Elizabeth Sophia Overland was born on June 22nd, baptized on June 31st, married on December 9th, and then passed on February 17th. She had three children, two boys and one girl. But my eyes grazed over their names, instead focusing on her death certificate. I started to read it aloud,

"February 9th. Elizabeth Sophia _Macathur_," she was married now, "Wandered out into a blizzard, reportedly sleep-walking and calling out the name of...o-of her deceased b-brother, Jackson Finnegan Overland. Her h-husband an...and a small search party went out a-after her as soon as th-they'd realized she'd departed...B-But it was in v-vain. The bl-blizzard turned horrendous, a-and they were f-forced to wait it out.

"Upon the blizzard's departure, the s-search party immediately sc-scavenged the forests surrounding Burgess. M-Merely hours in-into the searching...a-a b-body was found. S-She was pronounced dead at t-the scene...H-Hypothermia."

I dropped the piece of paper and stalked out of the records room. There wasn't much else I was interested in now.

I was angry.

**Very** angry.

_What kind of brother are you?_ a new voice in my head snapped, _You killed her! You killed your little sister when she was out looking for you! You know what you are? You're a monster!_

"No..." I whispered, clenching my fists. "You're...you're wrong! I-I didn't mean to-"

_Of course you didn't. You didn't think. You __**never **__do, Jack. And it only causes more pain. You're nothing but a monster._

"STOP IT!" I shouted, chucking my staff to the side I sprinted into the forest. I didn't want to hurt anyone while I let my emotions take over. It'd been awhile since I'd last done this...years, maybe a few decades. Bottling up emotions was a pastime of mine; its not like I had anyone to share them with anyway.

It felt nice to let them loose. Every tree I struck or kicked became layered in frost and ice, and the wind rushed around me, carrying the snow I was causing to fall with it. I screamed and yelled and cursed in languages I'd forgotten I knew, ignoring the tears that trickled down my face. At some point I'd picked my staff back up and threw it once more in anger before re-grabbing it and soaring into the sky, stirring up the clouds around me into a blizzard, only to release my hold on the staff and let me fall aimlessly to the cold, hard ground.

The shock of the impact was enough to snap me out of it, and I laid there for a moment, staring up at the sky as the tears continued to come. The snow fell angrily around me, slowing down as my breaths became even again.

It was growing dark out now, and the sky was turning a mixture of purple, blue, and indigo. The soft glow that reflected off the snow and ice surrounding me managed to further relax my harsh breathing, and slowly the tears came less and less.

But the whimpering that came from me wasn't going to stop for a while.

* * *

Eventually, I forced myself to get to my feet and retrieve my staff. Getting back up onto my feet and heading deeper into the woods, I gazed up at the sky. It was late now, the sky black with stars glittering all throughout. There was no moon tonight.

My eyes ached, and my face felt stiff with the frozen tears still resting upon it. I wiped them away, hoping to forget what I had just discovered. I thought I'd been ready to figure out more about my past and my family, that maybe it'd make me feel a little better about being accepted into this new one.

But it didn't.

It only made me feel worse.

I'd killed her. She'd gone out in a snowstorm I'd caused and died. I had killed my little sister.

A weird, strangled laugh escaped my lips. How ironic. I'd died saving her from the cold, water beneath her feet when I'd taken her ice skating. Then I became an ice spirit. And then Icaused a snowstorm. And then shedied because of it.

It really was all my fault.

I laughed again. How ironic was it that I had become a spirit because I saved my little sister, only to cause her death a couple of years later with the powers I'd gotten from saving her?

I shook my head, letting my gaze fall to the snow covered ground. Hatred for my powers coursed through my veins, and I felt the urge to smack my staff against a tree, hoping for it to splinter into pieces. But I didn't; some part of me was still within reason.

I fell to the ground again, sitting up on my knees. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry again, I wanted to die and go to whatever Hell spirits went to.

But I didn't.

I didn't cry, I didn't scream, and I truly didn't want to die again. I'm not sure what I wanted. And I wasn't sure on what I exactly wanted to do about it.

So I did the next best thing.

Went to the person who would know.

* * *

It was never hard for me to "sneak" into the Warren; I had three hundred years plus of experience under my belt.

Finding the Pooka was another matter.

I usually tried to avoid him, so I wasn't exactly sure on how to go about finding him. But hey, how hard could it be to find a six-foot one humanoid rabbit?

"Bunny?" I called out as I flew over top the Sentenial eggs and miniature eggs, causing a light snow to fall. Hopefully I wouldn't freeze too much; I was trying to get on Cottontail's good side now.

Landing in a rather large field of grass, I called out once more, turning a complete 360 as I searched for the Guardian of hope. I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and I just wanted to find the damn rabbit already.

"Bunny! I know you're here! Come on, can we talk?" I yelled, leaning on my staff. "Please, Cottontail!" I started to beg, my voice faltering.

_Maybe he isn't here, he might be out spreading Hope you know, he does that sometimes..._

_**Or maybe's he's ignoring you. He always has, hasn't he? What makes you think this'll be any different?**_

"No..." I growled, throwing my hands over my ears. "No...h-he wouldn't...we're on the s-same side now..."

_**Ha. Do you really think that makes a difference? Or did you think that he really cared about you? That the other Guardians truly care? Oh, come off it boy, they don't! They just used you to defeat the Nightmare King! They don't need you anymore! Why do you keep trying! Give up, boy!**_

"NO!" I screeched, falling to my knees. I felt the wind begin to pick up around me, whether out of concern or agreement with the voice I didn't know. I wanted to run again, to escape the voice, but I couldn't get myself to even stand up.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it! Y-You're wrong! S-Shut up!"

The voice laughed, and for a moment I believed Pitch to be right next to me. _**Deep down, Jack, you know I am right. I have always been right, and I always will be. You're worthless, you're just a tool that the Guardians will use when they need you, and then they'll throw you away. They don't believe you're worth anymore of their time, Jack. You're just a winter spirit who messes everything up wherever he goes.**_

"S-SHUT UP!" I screamed, curling in on myself. I wanted the voice to stop, to leave, to shut the Hell up and never speak to me again. I wanted to get rid of it. But how...how can you get rid of something that's...inside of your head?

I felt myself being picked up by the wind, though I wasn't sure if it was my own, and was soon out of the Warren and out in the frozen landscape of my home forest. Unknown strength helped me back onto my feet, and I tossed my staff to the side.

I dashed to my lake, coming to a dead stop right before the water's edge. It was only lightly frozen now, it wouldn't be so hard...

...to break.

* * *

Bunnymund POV

"Frostbite! Agh! I swear when I get mah hands on ya, yer gonna be sorry…" I muttered under my breath as I observed the snow and ice scattered haphazardly around the Warren. I heard the others fall down through the tunnels and come up behind me.

"Well, at least we know 'e's been 'ere." North remarked. Tooth fluttered overhead, silent as she took the scene in.

"This doesn't look like his normal snow pattern."

We fell silent; she was right. We'd all gotten together to finally confront Jack about his past life after Tooth had brought up how skittish and resisting he was to tell her about it. We were all curious; what could've been so bad that he didn't want to share?

"Yer right, Tooth…his snow isn't like this." I muttered, already feeling guilty for my anger towards the kid. "Do ya think somethin's up?"

"It is all…scattered and messy. Not like Jack at all. Hmm…yes, Bunny," North pondered, "S'mething is most definitely up. Sandy, what do you think?"

The eldest Guardian nodded, a look of worry obvious on his face.

"We should look for 'im, try to see what's goin' on." I suggested, already turning to face the frosted trail through the grass. It'd be easy to follow him to the surface at least. A sickening feeling was settling in my stomach; something was definitely wrong, and something terrible was bound to happen if we didn't find Jack.

Not waiting for a response, I made up my mind and dashed along Jack's trail, only pausing to look back at the others and shout,

"Hurry up ya 'nellys! Yer as slow as a bunch of turtles!"

Resuming speed, I ran on all fours through the Warren and ascended up through one of the tunnels leading to Burgess; Jack always managed to end up back there whenever he was in a funk.

As soon as I stepped out into the open air, I was met with a fierce array of snow and wind.

"Yeah, the kid is definitely upset…" I mumbled, glancing around as the others joined me above ground. "We gotta find 'im before 'e 'urts someone, or 'imself-"

"Bunny, look!" Tooth gasped, pointing at an object abandoned in the snow. I jumped over to it and picked it up; It was Jack's Shepard's staff. I turned and looked to the others.

"We need to find 'im. Now," I said quietly, "The weather is goin' crazy, and Jack doesn't even have 'is staff. Somethin's terribly wrong 'ere."

"We should split up, then." North said, a serious demeanor overcoming him. "Sandy, you go East; Tooth, you go North; I shall go South, and Bunny you go West. Da? Agreed?"

We all nodded, sharing one more silent, nervous glance at one another. No one knew exactly what we were about to find.

North grunted, nodding his head to us. "Good. We find Jack, make sure he is okay, then contact others. Now, we go!"

* * *

Jack was a lot harder to track in his own element than he was in the Warren.

His scent, which is pine trees and snow, obviously mixed in with those of the surrounding forest. And so for a while, I just sprinted along the ground towards West, hoping for the best and looking for any sign that may lead me to Jack.

It didn't take long to find some.

Where the snow lay uneven and stiff, it was much easier to see the footprints. After that, it was easy to follow the boy's uneven trail through the woods. It never stayed straight and the farther it went along, the messier the imprints became, as if he was going faster and faster.

Needless to say, it only caused me to grow more and more concerned.

Ever since Jack had become a Guardian, I had been kinder to him and well, taken up a protective role so to say. He was still a child in many aspects, and not well liked by other spirits, or so I'd observed.

He always told us that he could handle things himself; he tried to be distant and nonchalant about complaints other spirits sent us about him. He tried to right his wrongs more than not, but it seemed as if his efforts didn't really matter to the other elemental spirits, so I made sure he stayed clear of them.

Finally, the prints in the snow started to even out, and I was able to spot where he'd gone. The lake.

I chuckled a bit, getting back onto my back feet and slowed my pace as I approached the clearing. Of course he'd come here, I should've guessed it in the first place. A little bit of my worry started to cease…

Until I saw Jack sliding along the lake's frozen surface.

Until I saw the cracks in the ice trailing behind him.

_Can winter spirits drown?!_

I ran up to the lake's edge, hesitating to get on. There was no way the ice could support my weight along with Jack's; it was brittle and thin, in fact I was amazed it was even holding up under Jack's. Why was Jack out on the ice anyway? Especially without his staff?

"Jack?" I finally asked softly, hoping to not startle the boy. "What are ya doin' out there?"

"Skatin'."he responded quietly; his voice was so soft I almost missed it.

"Well, that's some pretty funny lookin' skatin', mate." I replied calmly, cautiously placing one foot down on the ice's surface. I winced as it slowly cracked as I put pressure on it, but I had to try and get out to Jack. Something was horribly wrong.

Jack simply shrugged at my words. He had his arms outstretched, as if to be keeping his balance. "I don't think so, it's how my sister used to skate."

Sister?

Jack turned to look at me. "She loved to skate, so every winter when she was old enough I took her out skating as much as I could; This very lake you know."

I swallowed hard. "Yeah? I didn't know that."

Suddenly, Jack scowled at me, anger flashing in his eyes. "'Course you didn't! You don't care!"

I was taken aback, and nearly stepped off the ice.

But just as fast as the anger had come, it vanished.

"I'm sorry…" I heard Jack whisper as he turned away from me. "I've always known that you, and the others too, didn't care. I'm okay with it though. I'm used to being on my own, it's nice sometimes."

He fell silent, suddenly twisting and turning back and forth on his feet effortlessly. My heart leapt into my throat as I watched him nearly loose his balance. A soft, restrained laugh escaped him.

"She and I played of games out on the ice too, you know."

"Really?" I asked, scooting along the ice carefully towards him. "What kind of games, Jack?"

"Oh lots," he said happily, "Tag, leapfrog, when the ice was thick enough of course; we took turns seeing how fast we could spin and how many turns we could do in a row…" he lifted one foot, balancing carefully on the other.

"And hopscotch."

The air felt extremely tense all of a sudden.

"Those sound like a lot of fun, Jack." I replied calmly, edging closer to him; He was just out of arms' reach now. "Why don't we go back to the shore and play some of those?"

Jack shook his head quickly.

"No, no; we played them out here on the ice," he muttered, looking down at the cracked surface below him. "Like this, watch…"

And I did watch, as Jack leaned forward and hopped onto his other foot. A sickening **crack** vibrated through the ice.

Jack looked at me, his face completely emotionless.

Suddenly, his eyes filled with fear. "S-See? Hopscotch-"

And then the ice split underneath his feet, cutting him off as he plunged down into the freezing water.

"JACK!" I screeched and threw myself towards where he disappeared, no longer concerned for myself. "Jack, Jack! Answer me!" I shouted. The water was already beginning to freeze back over, and Jack's flailing arms and legs only continued to slow and sink with each passing second.

All sense of logic gone, I shot my arms down into the cold slush and reached for the winter spirit. Ignoring the sudden tingling and burning sensation of the temperature, I dropped further and further into the water. I was _not _about to let Jack drown.

"Not on my watch, Frostbite…Come, on!" I growled as I finally managed to grab ahold of one of his arms. With a smile and I yanked him upwards and grabbed the other. "Got'cha!" I cheered, pulling him back above the surface.

I pushed back away from the hole in the ice, and didn't hesitate to pick the boy up and sprint off the ice; who knew how long it'd be before _I _fell in, and then we'd be in a pickle.

Once we were on the bank, I dropped to my knees and laid Jack carefully down, shaking him. He was still breathing, but barely.

"Open yer eyes, mate, come on now…" I whispered, trying to remain calm.

I got no response. So I continued to shake him and turned him on his side, patting on his back ever so slightly.

Thankfully, this time he did respond, and he started throwing up water and gasping for air. He started to sit up and reach out. I put a paw on his shoulder and gently helped him sit up as the water continued to come.

"There, Jack, see? Yer all good, it's okay…Keep coughin', that's good." I tried to soothe him, but I wasn't so sure how much it was actually working.

After about two minutes, (which felt like two hours), Jack's coughing finally subsided, and the only sound between us was his harsh breathing. He sat there, confusion and terror still in his eyes, but his face was no longer emotionless, he seemed to be back from wherever his head had been out on the ice.

"B…Bunny, wh-what happened?"

"You were out on the ice, mate." I told him quietly, unsure of how much he exactly remembered, of how much he actually had told . "Ya…ya were talkin' a lot about skatin' and, somethin' about a sister. And games, like hopscotch."

Jack tensed up. "I…I w-was?"

I nodded, casting my eyes down and resting my ears against my head. "Yeah, ya were, Jack. Ya talked about how much she loved to go skatin', and that you'd take her as much as ya could."

He sighed, his body relaxing as a forced chuckle came from him. "W-Well…at least you know now."

I looked up at him, my ears perked back on top of my head.

"Know what?"

Jack's breath caught in his throat, and for a moment I thought he wasn't going to tell me as silence enveloped us.

Jack broke it rather quickly.

"How I died."

"…Oh."

He sighed again, resting back on his hands. "I…I didn't want to tell you guys, at least not yet. But, I guess it's out now, huh? You're going to tell the others and they're going to ask more questions and just-"

"'Ey, 'ey; slow down there, mate," I said, laying a paw on his shoulder again. "I ain't gonna tell 'em unless ya want me too."

He looked at me, confused. "What? Really?"

"Really." I smiled a little. "I get where yer comin' from; The past is a hard thin' to open up 'bout.

He didn't say anything for a moment, and silence once again surrounded us. I shifted awkwardly; it wasn't usually me in these types of situations. Tooth and Sandy had always been better at cheering ourselves up, offering advice or comfort.

But, it seemed I was doing a decent job as Jack suddenly wrapped his arms around me, mumbling something into my fur.

"Wha' was that, mate? I didn' quite hear ya through the fur." I chuckled, looking down at him.

Jack pulled back, turning away and wiping at his face quickly. "N-Nothing….just, um, thanks…"

I blinked. "Uh, yer welcome. Now, since we're already both 'ere, why don't ya tell me about whatever memories yer ready to share?"

He nodded, shifting so he was sitting with his legs close to his chest. A sigh escaped him, and he cast his eyes downward as he started to speak,

"Well, it all started a long time ago…when I wasn't Jack Frost, but Jackson Finnegan Overland, and I decided to take my little sister, Elizabeth, ice skating…"

* * *

It was nearing dawn, and I'd been sitting in silence the entire time. Jack had turned his body so he was leaning against me, his head laying against my shoulder and the rest of his body slouched over as his breathing came steadily. I hadn't had the heart to move him, not after he shared so much.

It had shocked me, everything he said. I'd had no idea, none whatsoever, about how Jack had become Jack Frost and how much he truly didn't remember.

I knew we'd all, the Guardians and other spirits, had affected and hurt him by ignoring him for so long. Part of me definitely wanted to go back and time and slap myself for it. And part of me really wanted to. Jack didn't deserve to be treated the way he was, he didn't deserve to go through everything he endured.

But it was not my place to tamper with the past, nor was it to change the course, no matter how awful, Man in Moon had set for the boy. A little resentment had settled for him now, though. Seventeen years old and Jack had probably experienced more emotional trauma than any of us had. And yet, he still smiled and looked for the positive side of things. He didn't give up, he didn't submit to the dark corners of his mind. He hadn't given in to Pitch when he'd offered him the one thing Jack wanted most. He still knew right from wrong, and he suffered through it all in silence.

Never once had Jack verbally expressed his anger or resentment towards the Guardians. They all knew it was there; Bunny now had evidence of that. But the kid never said a thing, never spoke bad of them. He probably used to, or maybe still does, think bad of them at times, but he never gave up trying to be accepted by them. He never stopped hoping that, one day, he'd be accepted by them; acknowledged, not pushed or shooed away.

And that was something I now truly admired about the kid.

MiM had been right about him since the start, never once doubting in Jack's purpose and place in the world. He knew what we was doing when he resurrected Jack all those centuries ago.

I chuckled, gazing up at the glowing moon in the sky.

"Ya work in such odd ways, mate. Mean ways, too sometimes. But," I turned, looking down at the sleeping winter spirit beside me.

"Ya are always right in the end. Thank for givin' us the boy none of us knew we needed. We'll take care of 'em from now on. We'll make up for all those years 'e spent alone. 'e's one of us now. An' in a family, no one gets left behind."

I smiled, ruffling Jack's hair gently, seeing the others started to approach of out the corner of my eye.

"Or forgotten."

* * *

**AN: Oh come on, you knew I had to use the best quote from my favorite Disney movie to end this. **

**ITS FINALLY DONE! **faints** Guys remind me to never think this much into another fandom, it only hurts my heart each time I come up with new headcanons and stories! ****But I love it**

**A new oneshot is already underway~ Actually that's a lie, multiple are! I'm sorry for not replying to reviews, I just…I'M SHY AND AWKWARD and I don't feel comfortable nor do I know how to respond and-**

**I should stop now.**

**Thank you guys for all your support and the simple gesture of reading my stories. It means so much to me, just to know that people like my stories at all. **

**Review and suggest prompts! Spring break is coming up after next week and I cannot wait to dive into the world of my fandoms without any stress from school.**


	11. CuriosityChanged the Jack pt1

"Oh, hey Phil."

North chuckled at the familiar phrase; Jack always managed to run into the yeti he had deemed as Phil first at the pole, it was almost as if it was a rule for him to annoy the poor beast before carrying on with why he came. Not that the yeti exactly minded, over the years after Jack had become a Guardian, Phil had grown fond of the kid.

Truly, all the Guardians had, and each fully enjoyed whenever the winter spirit paid them a visit; which, to their great pleasure, was nearly becoming a weekly thing.

"Jack," The Russian greeted, "How have you been? Staying out of trouble, da?"

The boy smirked, hopping down from where he'd perched on the railing of the Globe Room. He twirled his staff in his hands, not bothering to avoid the unlucky elves running along the ground; two froze on the spot. "More or less," Jack replied, "How's the preparations for Christmas coming? Anything exciting to report on?"

North smiled, nodding. "Yes, I have actually been working on s'mething new! Or, a few things new." He said, walking into his workshop and stopping in front of his desk. Jack followed him eagerly, glancing around at the shelves covered in the toy man's creations. North's workshop never failed to entrance him.

Upon North's words, Jack's face lit up, the curiosity unmistakable in his eyes as he walked over to the older man, peering down at the desk in hope of seeing the designs. "Really? What are they?"

A knot suddenly appeared in North's stomach; should he really share what he'd been working on? Something nagged at him, something that told him he really shouldn't tell Jack about his new projects. They weren't complete, they were still dangerous and unpredictable. And the Russian knew that the winter spirit would definitely go looking for his new creations as soon as he knew what they were.

"Well...'tis a secret, Jack." North finally managed to say, looking away from the boy and hoping he'd drop the subject.

He didn't. Jack suddenly leapt into the air, floating effortlessly in the wind that held him. "Secret? Come on, North, I know you better than that by now! You usually can't wait to show-off your new stuff!"

The larger Guardian grunted, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder and easing him to the ground. The wind was blowing around every loose piece of paper in sight, not to mention picking up a few elves and spare toys. "As I have said before, no wind in pole."

"Opps, sorry, forgot." Jack mumbled, calling off the wind. "But like I was saying, why won't you tell me? I promise I won't go looking for it! Honest." he finished, trying to look innocent.

He was never good at masking he mischievous look in his eyes though.

"Sorry, Jack. 'tis is s'mething to be a surprise to all of us!" North said, "I have not even told ta others."

"Really?" Jack piped up, tilting his head to the side. "You haven't even told the Yetis?"

"Da. No one shall know until it is ready! 'tis to be big and grand surprise. Now," North turned, walking towards his workshop, "I must get back to work. Feel free to stay as long as you like, Jack-"

North was interrupted, as a Yeti burst through the door and started gibbering out words only the Russian could understand. It sounded tired and worried, and in a huge rush to deliver what news it carried. Jack tensed up, expecting news about Pitch being in the pole once more.

Ever since that Easter, years ago now, the Guardians had been on high alert for the Nightmare King's return. Part of them hoped it'd be another hundred years before he resurfaced, but with all of the disasters happening in the world of humans, fear ran high and wide spread. There was no doubt that the boogieman would soon appear, just as strong if not stronger than before. And because of this, everyone was a bit antsy whenever something out of the ordinary happened.

Thankfully however, this did not seem to be the case today.

North grumbled, putting a hand to his forehead. A sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes, massaging his temples. "Ta elves have done what now?"

More grumbling, and soon other Yetis appeared behind the one already in the door frame, talking in the same gibberish, no doubt complaining about whatever deed the elves had done. Finally, North slammed his hand down on his desk, silencing everyone in the room. Jack stepped back, startled. It was a rare sight to see the guardian of wonder irritated.

"Alright, alright! 'hush it, I coming, I coming." North muttered, walking towards the group of beasts. He stopped, turning to look at Jack for a moment. "You can stay in here if you like, Jack. Just be careful, da?"

Jack nodded, snapping out of his daze. A grin spread across his face, and once more there was a look of mischievousness in his eyes. "Of course, I'll behave myself."

Once again there was a nagging sense in the back of the Russian's mind, but he had no time to dwell on it now. The elves had managed to get into the raw sugar in the kitchen, and now were running rampant through the factory, destroying anything they were able to get their small little hands on. Which surprisingly, was a lot.

With one final grunt, North marched out of his workshop, heading towards the kitchens. It was going to be a long day in the Pole.

And it was about to get even longer.

After hours and chasing down as many elves as possible and locking them in their quarters, North was ready for a well-deserved rest, sitting at his desk and going over the details to his newest creations; little potions to make whoever drank them act as if they were a child again, experiencing all of the hope, wonder, dreams, memories, and fun that resided in that of a mind of a child.

He hadn't perfected the serum yet, though it'd been awhile since he'd last gotten a Yeti to willingly be a test subject. He couldn't blame them; the last one had merely been given the personality of an infant, and it took a full week for the poor thing to get back to acting like an adult. Ever since, North had kept the serum under lock and key in his workshop, hidden carefully and securely.

Or so he thought.

Opening the door to his space, North had a hand covering his forehead and his eyes closed, trying to end the headache pounding against his skull. Oh, what he'd give to a nice hot cup of eggnog and a plate of cookies right now, and just sit in his chair and nod off by the fire...

That image quickly vanished as he opened his eyes, only to discover the winter spirit carefully balancing on his staff in front of a shelf and reaching for an elegantly decorated box, which right next to, was a glass vial of rose-colored liquid. Panic filled the guardians veins, and he lunged forward, reaching to pull the boy away.

"Jack, no! Stop!"

Jack froze, startled. His foot slipped off where it'd been perched on his staff, and instinctively reached for the shelf as he lost his balance and fell, bringing the shelf down with him. Jack landed with a thump on his back, knocking the wind out of him. The box and the vial dropped from their spots, tumbling down and each giving off unmistakable cracks as they smashed into the boy's head. The box crumbled, empty and fell into pieces of glass and ice. The vial shattered, and the liquid it'd contained dripped down Jack's face, covering everything from his eyes to his mouth in the rose-colored liquid.

Jack coughed, trying to sit up and moving his hand to his head. "Ow..." he groaned, coughing once more. The liquid started to leak into his mouth, covering his tongue and trickling down his throat. He gagged, trying to roll onto his side. "Eck, North...what is this stuff-"

North was by his side in an instant, helping to brush off the shards of glass and ice, and tried to wipe the serum off Jack's face. "Don't open your mouth! Hold your breath!" he shouted, trying to keep the boy down. Oh man, this was bad.

"Wha...why-" Jack started to say, only to start gagging and coughing once more. He felt hot all of a sudden, or was it cold? His mind became jumbled, his vision blurry. He jammed his eyes shut, his head suddenly pounding, his body suddenly aching. A hand flew to the Russian's arm out of fear, and Jack clutched it tightly.

"N-North...I d-don't feel so good..."

Worry and concern filled North's chest, and he tried to pull Jack closer to him, but the boy had somehow gripped the floor with his other hand, and his legs nearly kicked out in defiance. The winter spirit's face had suddenly become much paler than the Russian ever thought possible. Sweat trickled down the boy's forehead, causing his hair to lay limp against his skin. He started to shiver, and started curling on himself. North turned his head and shouted out to the Yetis who must have heard the commotion and had gathered at the door,

"Don't just stand there! Get first aid Yetis, prepare infirmary, contact other Guardians! We must-!"

North stopped short as a blinding white light suddenly flashed from below him, causing everyone to cover their eyes and look away until it finally dimmed.

Shocked and in a panic, North looked down to where the light had emitted, and in its place, was a now small, even tinier than before, brunette-haired, brown-eyed Jack Frost, blinking up at him as if nothing had been wrong just moment before.

He tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth to speak,

"Are you Santa?"

Uh oh.

* * *

Bunnymund POV

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" I heard Tooth screech from down the hall. I'd just arrived not moments before, ready to complain about why North had called us all up here in the middle of my off season when her voice reached my ears, rather, pierced my ears. When she screeched, she screeched. This was not going to be a fun day.

Hopping into the Globe Room, I shook each foot by the fire and glanced over at the scene. Tooth was hovering above and dangerously close to North's face, a look I couldn't even describe on her face. North had his hands behind his back sheepishly, avoiding the hummingbird-fairy's eyes. I couldn't blame him; Tooth was scary when she was mad.

"Alright, alright, what's goin' on, you two? Why were we all called here?" I asked, interrupting Tooth's scolding. "What's so important that ya felt the need to call us all 'ere outta nowhere? It is the middle of mah off season, mate, and I don't appreciate havin' to trudge up here to-"

"Bunny! Look, look at him!" A child's voice suddenly squealed, and I felt something latch onto my leg. "He's so big! North, why's he so big?"

Confusion overcame me, and I looked down to find a young boy, no older than seven clinging to my leg. Startled, I tried to pull him off while glancing over to North and Tooth, who both were now suppressing a fit of laughter.

"Uh...care to explain, mates?" I asked cautiously as the boy continued to cling to and climb up my leg. Fits of giggles escaped his lips, and I couldn't help but compare him to Frostbite; his hair, besides being brown instead of winter white, was styled just as his was, and his eyes held the same glint of mischievousness as the winter spirit's. Their faces were even similar in structure, though obviously this kid's face was much less mature and developed. Still, the resemblance was uncanny. Especially with the overly-large blue sweatshirt that covered his entire body.

"Heh, he kinda looks like..." I trailed off, seeing the look Tooth was once more giving North. My eyes widened, and my head shot back down to the kid, looking him over and over again. "Wha...? No way, how did...?"

"North's new "project", that's how." Tooth muttered, crossing her arms as she shot daggers at the guardian of wonder, who coughed nervously and avoided her gaze and mine.

I opened my mouth, ready to ask more questions when I felt a hand reach up and grabbed a hold of my arm, tugging on it.

"Who do I look like?" the little Jack asked, eyes wide with curiosity. He was so little, and so...not like Jack. His skin wasn't ice cold as it usually was, and his cheeks weren't tinted purple. He was no bigger than a seven year old, if not six. He now, quite literally, had the heart of a child.

Clearing my throat awkwardly, I ruffled Jack's hair, trying to shake the shock out of my system. "Eh, someone I know, been awhile since I seen 'im though."

Little Jack tilted his head, still wishing to know more. "What's his name?"

I chuckled, smiling a little. "'is name is Jack."

The boy's eyes widened, and he suddenly gaped up at me. "Really?" he asked, "My name's Jack! Or well, it's Jackson but, my Momma and Papa sometimes calls me Jack!"

"Really now?" I chuckled again, picking the kid up in my arms; I couldn't resist. "Well ain't that cool; ya look alike and share the same name. What are the chances?"

Jackson giggled, covering his mouth with his hands. "I dunno, but it's really cool!" he grinned before stopping his giggles and raising an eyebrow. "What's your name?"

"Mah name?" I asked playfully, perking my ears up. "Mah name is Bunnymund, but most call me Bunny; it's easier to say, for kids like yerself anyway." I chuckled, poking him in the side and earning a fit of laughter. I glanced over at North and Tooth, who stood with their mouths agape. I thanked MiM I had fur; if I didn't there'd be an obvious blush on my face. It wasn't like they weren't going to fuss over him, was it? Might as well try and play it out, the kid was kinda cute as a child.

Setting Jackson down, I gently nudged him over towards one of the Yetis, hoping to distract him. "Why don't ya go play with some of them Yetis? I need to talk with North and Tooth for a moment."

The boy nodded, smiling up at me. "Okay!" he said before running over to the poor Yeti who was no sooner going to be dragged all over the factory by the small child. As soon as they'd left the globe room (the Yeti having a secure hold on Jackson's hand and a full set of directions where and where not to take the child), I turned to the others, crossing my arms and smiling smugly.

"What? Did ya think 'ole Bunnymund didn't know how to handle a child?" I taunted, enjoying the looks on their faces as my embarrassment faded away. I really didn't have any reason to be embarrassed; taking care of children was something we were supposed to be able to do, wasn't it? "It's not like I didn't have a hand in lil' Sophie's life now is it?"

Snapping out of her daze, Tooth giggled quietly, shaking her head. North cleared his throat, obviously trying not to chuckle, but the smile on his face gave him away. "Heh, we just did not expect you to take the news so well, Bunny."

"Like how Tooth took it?" I asked, casting her a grin.

Sheepishly, she moved her hands behind her and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, its just...North, you should've known better than to tell Jack anything on what you were working on. He's the guardian of fun; of course he's going to try and find it! He'll want to be the first to know what it is!" she huffed, putting her hands on her hips as she fluttered around him.

"She's gotta a point there, North." I said, walking over to him. "Jack's a curious snowflake and 'e's gonna go snoopin' for anythin' in 'is interests."

"Yes, yes I know. I just did not expect 'im to find it so quickly. And 'e was not even reaching for tah vial when it fell and broke on 'im." North sighed, putting hand to his forehead. "I did not mean for 'tis to happen."

"We know ya didn't, mate," I said, offering a small smile to hide my annoyance, "All that matters now though is gettin' Frostbite back to normal. Ya know 'ow to do that, right?"

"Well...not exactly."

"What?!" I yelled, losing my temper. "Ya mean to tell me ya don't know how to turn Jack back to normal?! What are we gonna do with a six year old Jack Frost who doesn't even 'member who 'e is?!"

North put his hands up in defense, taking a step back. "Hey now, its not permanent! It will eventually where off!"

"And how long is "eventually", mate?!"

"Eh...not sure. Last test took a week to wear off, and that was only changing Yeti's personality into that of an infant." North said sheepishly, avoiding my gaze again.

Oh man, I was livid now. "A week?! North, do ya understand how bad this is?!"

"What?" North asked, "We just have to keep Jack here and watch over 'im until serum wears off. 'e 'as no ice powers, so it should be easy, no?"

"Bunny's right, North," Tooth stepped in, hands still on her hips as a few of her mini fairies fluttered in from the window in a frenzy, looking for Jack no doubt. "This really is bad; what if Pitch comes back when Jack is like this? You know Pitch is going to go after him first simply because of the fact he and Sandy were the main faults in his plan. He's going to want revenge, and now it'll be even easier for him!"

"But there has been no sign of Pitch for years, we all know 'tat."

"North, ya know its only a matter of time. Fear 'as been growin' in the human world, and that fear is only makin' 'im stronger. 'e could be back any day now, and we're in no shape to deal with 'im right now." I sighed, crossing my arms. "Pitch is gonna come back, and if 'e comes back now, well, lil' Jack is gonna be 'is first target."

North finally let out a sigh and rest his head in his palm, casting his eyes down to the floor. "I know, Bunny. I am worried to, but there is not much we can do but wait it out. If I try and make an antidote, without having a test subject, it might only hurt Jack more."

"Well, ya can at least try. If ya can de-age 'im, can't ya figure out how to re-age 'im?" I muttered, looking towards where Jackson and the Yeti had disappeared off to. We needed to fix him, there was no way around it.

"I suppose...but someone will need to keep the little баловник outta trouble." North nodded, picking his head up and starting to turn away as if a plan was already forming in his mind.

"The wha'?"

"Mischievous child," North chuckled, looking back over to us. "You've both said Jack will need protection, and you two are obviously tah best choices, seeing how well you both handle children."

Tooth and I both coughed at the same time, practically choking on air. Once more I was thankful for the fur on my face as I felt my skin grow hot, and it was easy to see the pink tint suddenly gathering in Tooth's cheeks. The mini fairies all giggled, halting in their search for the boy to look at us. North chuckled once more, crossing his arms.

"Then it is settled. As soon as Sandy arrives, he and I will start work on tah antidote while you two keep eye on Jack."

"Hang on, do we get a say in this-" I started only to be cut off by Tooth laying a hand on my shoulder gently. She smiled a little, shrugging.

"It'll be fine, Bunny. Besides, he seems to like you more when he's like this."

And as if to enforce her statement, I once more felt someone suddenly grab a hold of my waist and cling on.

"Bunny!" Jackson's high-pitched voice rang out, catching everyone's attention. "The toy factory is so big! Did you know that? Its so big and we almost got lost and Gib didn't let me touch a lot of things but he did let me play with a few of the toys and, and it was just so cool! We didn't even get to see the whole thing!"

Gib? I looked to the Yeti, who merely shrugged its shoulders and gave what I thought was a smile. I chuckled; it wouldn't be the first time Jack's named a Yeti on his own terms. But, I guess most don't seem to mind seeing as they pretty much respond to whatever name he gives them.

"Well is that so, mate?" I replied, leaning down to Jackson's level. "That is prettah awesome. Did ya have fun?"

Jackson nodded vigorously, a huge smile plastered on his face. "Yeah! And like I said we didn't even get to see the whole thing! There's a lot more! But Gib wouldn't let me go down those hallways, but I really wanna."

Once again I found myself scooping the child into my arms. "Well, I'm sure Gib has a good reason for that now, doesn't 'e?"

Jackson merely shrugged, and I guess my fur tickled him, because he kept giggling and trying to shift away. "I guess."

Suddenly, North clapped his hands together, gathering everyone's attention. The Russian was looking at me with a smile on his face. I felt my face grew hot again, and I nearly glared at him. I did not want my reputation ruined just because I was being nice to Jack during this situation, though having fun and making a child's day really shouldn't be a bad thing when I'm a Guardian.

The other spirits could, and should, understand that. It was then realized I really didn't care what they thought, and what they thought wouldn't really affect anything I did. My glare slowly turned into a grin and I turned back to the child in my arms, who was staring curiously between me and North until the man spoke.

"See? You are natural. Tooth is good with children, and obviously Bunny is as well. Case settled." he announced in a matter-of-fact kinda way. "Now, go off and well, have fun. Keep Jack...son entertained."

As he walked off, Tooth and I shared a look. Sure, we both knew how to care and play with kids. But, this wasn't just any kid. This was Frostbite, just in human form. Part of me wondered if that meant he held all of his human memories up until his current age, or if he had nothing to think about. He didn't seem scared or worried though, like most children are when they're separated from their families. Heck, he looked downright comfortable. Or, maybe that was just what kids were always like at this age.

Nevertheless, the two of us were stumped on what to do with the kid until he returned to normal or an antidote was made.

He however, knew exactly what he wanted to do. Looking over to Tooth, he smiled and jumped out of my arms, startling us both out of our thoughts.

"Tooth, I wanna play a game."

Smiling at him, the hummingbird-fairy knelt down to his eye level and ruffled his hair gently. "And what game would that be, Sweettooth?"

"Tag!" he chirped, grinning up at her innocently.

Tooth and I shared a look again; North (and the Yetis) would not appreciate a small six year-old running wildly throughout the toy factory with the two of us running with or chasing after him. We'd disturb too much work and more than likely break more toys then it'd be worth.

"Uh, how about another game, Snowflake?"

Jackson titled his head, turning towards me. Confusion shown in his eyes. "Snowflake?"

I mentally slapped myself. We probably didn't want to tell him what was really going on, we didn't want to arise more questions. From the look Tooth gave me, it was clear when North had explained to her what happened, there had been some agreement to treat Jack as just another child who believed. He probably hadn't questioned where he was or how he'd got here, and the plan probably was to not make him ask anything else.

Tooth quickly rebounded for me, turning the boy back towards her. "Its just a nickname sweety, like how I call you Sweettooth, because you're just a nice little boy."

"But why did Bunny call Snowflake? Bunny is for Easter, and Easter's in spring.

"Oh, well, its because..." she trailed off, glancing at me.

"Because yer as little and...as unique as a snowflake, Jackson." I quickly finished, "But, anyways, how 'bout that game? Instead, why don't we play..."

"Oh, oh!" Jackson suddenly bounced back and forth from foot to foot and waved his little hands excitedly. "What about hide 'n seek?"

"Um..." I looked to Tooth, who merely shrugged.

"Eh, fine. Sure." I answered, and Jackson squealed happily and nearly ran off to hide. I quickly grabbed the hood of his sweatshirt, holding him back.

"Ey, ey, slow down there snowflake. There's one rule. We gotta stay in tah Globe Room, which is 'tis room."

Jackson pouted, his lower lip sticking out. "Aw, why?"

"Because the factory,, like ya said, is much too big and too dangerous, 'specially fer someone of yer size."

Jackson paused for a moment, looking between me and Tooth, then nodded. "Okay. Not it!"

Tooth giggled and mimicked him, quickly calling out "Not it" and scooped the boy up into her arms, fluttering back a few feet and up into the air.

I sighed playfully, pretending to glare at them. "Al'ight, I'm it then. What should I count to?"

"How's thirty seconds?" Tooth suggested looking to Jackson, "It's longer than ten seconds, the common number, and shorter than a minute, but still gives us time to find good spots. What do you think, Sweettooth?"

Pausing again, Jackson placed a hand on his chin, and made a thoughtful face. "Hmm...I think thirty is good!"

"Al'ight, thirty sec'ends it is then." I said before hopping back and little bit and turning away from them, raising my paws to cover my eyes. "I'm gonna start countin' now! Go on 'n hide!"

I heard Tooth set Jackson down, and the shuffling of little feet signaled me to start the counting. I smiled, and closed my eyes under my paws.

"1...2...3..."

* * *

"Ah! You found me!" Tooth squealed as Jackson uncovered her hiding spot. We'd been playing hide and seek for a while now, and it was rather easy to see that the child was now growing bored. I couldn't blame him really; there wasn't too many spots to hide in that we hadn't used, and one can only hide in the same spots so many times before it becomes predictable.

"Do ya wanna play again, Snowflake?" I asked, walking over to the boy and kneeling down to him. I was hoping that the look on his face was misinforming, and that we'd get a few more rounds out of him. I wasn't sure what else there'd be for us to do.

Sadly, we had no such luck.

"Eh, its getting kinda boring." Jackson answered, "Is there anything else we can do?"

I glanced at Tooth, who shrugged her shoulders biting her lip as if to say "I got nothing." Biting my own lip, I turned back to the child and sighed.

"Well, how 'bout we play one more round 'n while we're hidin', we'll think of some ideas. How's that?"

Jackson simply shrugged his shoulders in response, causing the sweater to slip off to one side and expose the other. He shivered slightly, and hugged the too-big hoodie closer to them. "Sure."

"Okay," I smiled slightly, straightening up. "Why don't Tooth count this n' me and you will hide. 'n while yer hidin', start thinkin' of stuff ya'd like to do, 'kay mate?"

Jackson nodded, and suddenly a grin spread across his face. I raised my eyebrow, not missing the mischievous look now glowing in his eyes. But I shrugged it off, dismissing the thought as I pulled up the collar of his hoodie. There wasn't much he could do in this room that he hadn't already done.

"Okay, I'm going to start counting!" Tooth warned, not noticing anything. Jackson giggled and sprinted off around the path, crawling into one of the hiding spots he'd already hid in. With a chuckle, I turned and went to find my own spot, settling for behind a few large tables and chairs.

"1...2...3..."

I started to phase out, staring at a spot on the floor. This game truly lost some of its excitement when one's played it for over an hour.

"16...17...18..."

The movement of hands and feet notified me of Jackson changing spots, the shuffling of his bare skin along the floor fading more and more until I couldn't hear it anymore. Hmm, wonder where 'e's hidden now.

"29...30! Ready or not here I come!" Tooth announced as she lifted off the ground and fluttered about, looking behind pillars and under tables and chairs. I had to chuckle at her "pretend seeking"; she always tried to make it seem like the little anklebiter hid amazingly well and could never find him. She usually found me first, which she did as her head poked over the chair and smiled down at me.

"Found you, Bunny." she laughed softly, fluttering back to let me climb out of my spot before flying back around the room.

"He hid really good this time," I heard her mumble, looking in every nook and cranny he'd hid in before. She kept looking, and looking...and looking, and looking. I started to help look too; something wasn't right.

Finally, after fifteen minutes of searching everywhere in the Globe Room, Tooth finally flew up to the top of the globe, a worried expression clear on her face.

"Okay, come on out, Sweettooth!" she called nervously, "You win!"

"Yeah, Snowflake," I added, hopping onto the railing and peering down the shaft. "Its time to come out, Jackson. We can play a new game now, any game ya want!"

"Jackson!" Tooth yelled out, flying down next to me. "Please, sweetie, come on out!"

Nothing, not even a giggle, came in response. Tooth rounded on me, panic-stricken.

"Bunny, this is not good! Not, not good at all!" she gasped, "Oh no, he could, he could be anywhere in the factory! Oh my, hurry, we must find him!"


	12. Trust

"Maybe he just hid them really well this year." a small English girl sighed, sitting on a picnic table. I started to walk towards them, holding out my basket and pulling out a pair of eggs. I smiled, trying to show them.

"I checked everywhere!" a boy said, "There's nothing..."

"Yes there is!" I said, almost desperately, "Sure they're not mah best lookin' googies, but they'll do in a pinch!" I held out a broken egg, trying to get any reaction from them. They merely continued to star at each other.

"I can't believe it..." the girl whispered, casting her eyes downward.

"I know," I started to say, moving a little closer.

"There's no such thing as the Easter Bunny."

It felt like my heart had stopped. I froze in place and stared at her, eyes wide.

"Wh...What?"

The girl pushed herself off the table and turned away, starting to walk. Slowly the boy started after her, dropping his empty basket to the ground. All around me other kids were giving up as well, the sound of wicker baskets dropping into the grass slammed against me ears. Desperate, I turned and tried to stop one of them, holding out the damaged eggs.

"N-No, no that's not true!" I gasped, "I'm right in front of ya, mate!"

And then, he walked right through me.

I'd forgotten what it felt like.

"T-They...They don't see me." I whispered, slowly loosing strength in my legs. "They don't see me..." I started to curl in on myself, holding the eggs close to my chest. Oh spirits, this, this feeling was awful. Horrible. It...It shouldn't ever happen to anyone, it shouldn't happen to me.

I was the Easter Bunny, I was supposed to bring hope to children, make them believe things will get better, that there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel.

But now that was gone.

I'd failed.

I'd failed at being a Guardian.

I felt Tooth lay a hand on my shoulder, but my attention was suddenly taken by North's voice.

"Jack, where were you?"

I was angry suddenly, I became stiff. Jack. This was all his fault. He hadn't been there to help, where had he been? It did not take that long to put a human child to bed. What had he been doing? Frolicking threw a field of flowers?

"The Nightmares attacked the tunnels. They smashed every egg, crushed every basket. Nothing made it to the surface..." North's voice continued. Not a word came from the winter spirit. Tooth flew over the them,

"Jack!" she exclaimed, then a gasp escaped her lips. "...where did you get that?"

I heard something rattle, like beads in a container.

The teeth. I started to stand up, barely holding back my rage. _Jack went and got his __**stupid teeth**__ instead of coming back to us. __**He went to Pitch**__. _

"I was...it's..." Jack stuttered, a crack in his voice. I didn't notice it.

"Where's Baby Tooth?" Tooth whispered, her voice faltering. "Oh Jack, what have you done?"

North spoke up again, resentment in his voice. "That is why you weren't here?" I heard him step forward, I could almost feel the anger in the air now.

"You were with _Pitch_?"

"No, listen, listen..." Jack started again, his voice hushed and soft. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

I turned to face him and the others, casting my eyes past the boy who'd betrayed us. I started to walk over to him, my body tight and rigid.

"He has to go."

Jack turned to look at me, his face shocked and confused. Tooth and North stood a little ways behind him, looks of disappointment and sadness upon their faces. How dare they. They should be furious. We should all be furious at him. He ruined Easter. He cost the world hope. I narrowed my eyes stepping even closer to the kid. Anger was all that was on my mind, nothing else. My brain had stopped working, my vision going red.

"W-What?"

I didn't feel my paw curl into a fist.

I didn't feel myself raise my arm.

I didn't feel myself pull it back.

"We should NEVER have trusted you!" I sneered, taking one final step closer to him. I wasn't registering anyway, I didn't feel myself lean towards Jack.

And I definitely didn't feel myself swing my fist forward into Jack's cheek.

A gasp and a scream came from the other two Guardians, as the three of us watched Jack fall to the ground, landing with a thud on his side. He'd dropped his staff, and had somehow chucked it away from us. He kept his head down, his body shaking.

Suddenly, I became aware of what I'd done. My eyes went wide, and I stumbled back, looking at the boy who stayed on the ground. Time seemed to freeze as guilt struck my body.

I just hit Jack.

I punched him in the face.

_I hit a child. _

"J-Jack...?" I heard Tooth call softly, moving towards him. He didn't say a word, didn't even raise his head. For a split second, I thought he was unconscious. How hard had I hit him? Had I broke anything? Oh spirits, what had I done?

"Jack?" I whispered, taking a slow step towards him and crouching down. I slowly reached out a paw, trying to tap him on the shoulder when he suddenly jerked away, keeping his face hidden.

"D-Don't touch me."

I bit my lip, trying to reach out again. "Jack? I...I'm sorry, mate. I didn't-"

He moved away again, pushing up onto his hands and knees and with amazing speed pulled his hood up over his head. One hand reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt, gripping something tightly.

"S-Stay away from me."

"Jack, I'm sorry," I started again, taking another step towards him, "I didn't mean-"

"I SAID STAY AWAY!" he suddenly screamed and stood up, finally turning to face me. I stumbled back, my gaze lingering on the bloody nose I'd give him. His face already seemed swollen, and his jaw was held oddly.

Oh spirits...what, what have I done?! I thought once more, forcing myself to pull my eyes away from him. No one moved for what felt like an eternity until Jack pulled his hand out of his pocket and dropped something to the ground. I heard North start to say something, only to stop himself as Jack lunged for his staff and took off, not even glancing back.

I turned to face the others, unable to meet their eye.

I'd just ruined probably the last chance we had to beat Pitch, all because I had been reminded what it felt like to be invisible. All because I'd been hurt and angry.

Because I had experienced what it must feel like every day to be Jack.

* * *

**Yeah...I couldn't help myself but try and rewrite this scene after seeing how Bunnymund almost punched Jack. My brain kept going _"What if he had hit him? What would've happened?"_**

**I wanted to keep going but, I have a headache and this is as far as I'm probably going to get.**

**So! I'll go back to working on part 2 of **_Curiosity Killed-er, Changed the Jack**.**_** It shouldn't be too long!**


	13. Can you see me?

In the end, they all grow up.

No matter who they are or what they believe in, there comes a point in their lives where magic and the world I live in slips from their minds, replaced by the life ahead of them, whether it be discovering who they are, chasing their fate, or making history. A period of their life ending as another one starts, it's always then it happens.

It's happened before, and I know it'll happen again.

But that doesn't mean it hurts any less.

Each time, I should be ready for it. I should be expecting for the feeling to come back, the loneliness, the pain. But I never am, and each time one walks through me, I still feel like breaking.

When someone walks through you, most people think it would hurt. But they think it's this simple, short pain that only lasts seconds. They think it's nothing bad, like walking through a wall of cold or hot water.

It's much worse than that.

It's cold. Very cold. And that's coming from me, winter himself. It's cold and long, in a sense. Truly it only lasts seconds, but there is this...ache that doesn't leave for a while. A chill hangs in the air surrounding you, and a feeling of emptiness fills you. You don't want to move, you don't want to do anything. And most of the time, I don't. I stand there and stare, for a little bit at least.

Each time I find myself wishing, praying to MiM for it to be a dream, to not be real, for it to just be a mind trick...but it never is. I should come to except that.

But I can't.

And I never will.

* * *

**Short drabble that popped up in my head, sort of the result of a headache and random bit of sadness. Jack is a good outlet~**

**And yes, the other three of the Big Four are hinted at in this. I almost went into detail of each experience Jack had with them, but my brain isn't into that idea and I really want to get to work on my other stories and the Curiosity arch.**


	14. Good Company

**Now this story is a special one I actually wrote long ago, around Christmas I believe. I was hesitant to upload it on here as its not even in my deviantART gallery; I wrote it for one person who I cherish as my friend very much as have debated on sharing this with others, but I believe it'll be okay. **

**I hope you'll enjoy it, I still love reading through it if I do say so myself.**

* * *

The sun was setting on the quiet, snow-covered town of Burgess, and down one of its many streets stood a house where a mother called her two children inside, ready to retire for the night. The children raced off to their rooms as their mother prepared their dinner, closing themselves off to the other to pursuit their own activities. The youngest of the two, a small, blond-haired girl quickly dashed over to her window and pushed it open, awaiting a visitor.

Sophie turned back to her bed and dropped to her knees before reaching her arm as far as she could underneath it. She pulled out her Read N' Learn, which she had made _great _use of, just not exactly how her mother thought her daughter did.

Eagerly she climbed up onto her bed and set out the device, opening it and turning it on, ready to be used by her friend. She sprang off the bed as soon as she was finished and danced around her room, shutting her door as she did. The child could barely contain her excitement; she planned to do something special for her friend tonight. Something she had wanted to do for a while now.

Practicing in her head, she hummed the tune she had learned at day care softly as she looked around her room which was covered in her artwork. Glitter, paint, markers, and crayons littered the floor, along with toys and clothing; the normal décor for a four-year-old's room.

However, if one were to look close enough, you'd notice the odd and special items all around. Painted eggs, little tooth sculptures, and special bottles of snow and golden sand were hidden carefully. A wooden sculpture of a flower sat on the girl's desk, baffling her mother each time she saw it. Only the child knew of where these objects came from, and she planned to always keep it that way.

For the girl could see beings most adults could not, and that is because _she believed._

Sophie smiled as she turned back to the window, and rocked back and forth on her heels; her excitement becoming too great for her to hide any longer. She bounced over to her music player, making sure the CD was in and was paused on the right track. She fiddled with the volume, hoping that it would be quiet enough not to be heard by the rest of the house but loud enough for her to hear it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her friend approaching the window. The child quickly jumped away from the CD player and dashed around to the bed, pulling the folded piece of paper out from under her pillow and into her pocket. She sat on the edge of her bed and waited as her friend flew up to the window, and smiled upon seeing her.

"Lili!" she girl cried and launched herself off the edge, running over to the spirit just as she floated inside. The child wrapped her arms around the spirit in a hug, simply happy to see her. She felt Lili return the gesture before scooping her up in her arms, and Sophie let out a soft giggle as she looked up at her. The older girl floated over to the child's bed and sat down, setting her companion on her lap as she took the pen for the electronic device.

"_How is my little believer?"_ the melodic voice rang out as the spirit wrote with one hand, her other combing through the child's hair. Sophie smiled and gazed up at her friend excitedly.

"I'm good! I have somethin' special I wanna do tonight, if that's okay."

"_And what would that be?" _Lili asked with a soft smile.

The young girl giggled and crawled out of the spirit's lap, confusing her slightly. "It's a surprise! Now, close your eyes!" She smiled as Lili complied with a silent laugh, and she raced over to her CD player and grabbed the remote before running back over. Climbing back onto the bed, she felt herself start to get nervous. _What if she doesn't like it? Will she be mad? _

The child gulped before settling down directly across from the spirit, sitting with her legs folded underneath her. She set the remote down and pulled the paper out from her pocket, unfolding it. She looked the drawing of her and the spirit together over one last time, and she smiled a little, her nerves fading.

She folded the paper back up and raised her head to her friend. "Okay, put out your hands. Oh, and you can open your eyes now." Lili complied once more, this time opening her eyes and watched curiously as Sophie reached over the Read N' Learn, setting the paper in the spirit's out-stretched hands. "You can unfold it whenever you'd like once I start."

Taking a shaky breath, the child leaned back and grabbed the remote, pointing it at her music player and pressing PLAY. She turned her attention back to the spirit, closed her eyes, and started to sing-along to the music.

"_You and me together we'll be  
Forever you'll see  
We two can be good company, you and me  
Yes, together, we two  
Together that's you  
Forever with me  
We'll always be good company, you and me  
Yes, together we'll be_

Lili quietly unfolded the paper, and looked down at it as the child continued.

_You and me together we'll be  
Forever you'll see  
We two can be good company, you and me  
Yes, together, we two  
Together that's you  
Forever with me  
We'll always be good company, you and me  
Yes, together we'll be_

A small smile made its way onto the spirit's face, and she looked up at the child as she continued to sing.

_You and me together we'll be  
Forever you'll see"  
We'll always be good company, you and me  
Just wait and see_

The child finished her song, and started to open her eyes just as the spirit leaned over the device between them and pulled her into a hug. Startled slightly, Sophie quickly returned the action and smiled. As Lili pulled away, she looked down and played with her hands nervously.

"D-Did you like it?"

A hand moved under her chin, and her face was raised to look her friend in the eye. The expression on Lili's face spoke more than words ever could, and the child let out a soft laugh, heart jumping for joy that spirit was pleased. She had wanted nothing more than to bring her friend happiness, and judging by the second hug, she had.

The rest of the night was filled with heart-felt melodies and quiet lyrics as the two girls sang to each other, ignoring the time as the moon rose and fell in the night sky. For that night, the entire neighborhood slept with music dancing into their dreams, and it was if the moon shined just a little brighter as two hearts connected in a bond that would never be broken; a bond of friendship.

* * *

**Lucille, or "Lili" as Sophie calls her, is a original character roleplayed by **_snowypast_** on tumblr, again someone I like to call a very good friend of mine. I have a Sophie roleplay blog on tumblr (currently on hiatus due to personal problems) and Sophie is very close to Lucille. **

**I have one or two other stories with them, but I would prefer to keep those to just **_snowypast_** and I (and anyone else who follows us). **

**Curiosity Killed-er, Changed the Jack part two is sitting at, 2,772 words and nearly completed, and there is going to be a third part as this story arc refuses to end! Not that I mind of course~ **

**Let's see if we can get the review count up to 150, and whoever its the 150th reviewer, will get a request! How does that sound? c:**


	15. February 17th

"What's he doing?"

"Shh, Tooth, we don't want him to hear us!"

"Alright, alright..."

"Good...now, come on."

North led us after the footprint trail in the snow, tailing after the kid. Jack had been acting...odd, and well, _cold_ for a few weeks now. Not like himself at all; no smiles, no pranks, and very little snow days were made worldwide. North, Tooth, and Sandy were all extremely worried, mostly because of how they found the kid and I last time he was acting strange. I however, knew what today was...

I didn't really want to follow Jack. Today was a day he'd told me he wanted to keep to himself; a private "day-off", as he called it. Why? He didn't really need to say. I was able to figure out with just the help of today's date. Today was February 17th.

Jack _really _wanted to be alone today.

But the others wouldn't listen to me.

_"Bunny, you've noticed how he's been acting!" Tooth told me, "Something is definitely up; Maybe he's sick or there's something bothering him! Maybe we could help!"_

_"Yeah, somethin' is up but that doesn't mean we need tah go after the kid each time he wants to sulk." I replied, looking away to polish one of my boomerangs. Jack had told me __**not **__to tell them, not yet, about what he'd found in the records hall, or what he saw in his memories. I was to wait until he was ready, and I planned on doing so; I owed him that much._

_"Bunny," I heard North say before placing a hand on my shoulder, "We are all worried for Jack. There is s'mething troubling him, and we are worried it is s'mething bad. It cannot hurt to find teh boy; to follow him and try to figure out what is up." _

_"But that's just it, North. Jack does not want to be found, 'n so 'e won't be. It ain't easy to find Frostbite in 'is own element; trust me, I tried. I'm just lucky I stumbled 'cross the lake when I did." _

_I turned to face North, only to find Sandy floating right next to him, a worried and concerned expression on his face. I held back a sigh; Jack and Sandy were really close. Sandy had been the only one of us to acknowledge Jack in a positive way before he'd become a Guardian. He tried to make sure the boy was okay when he could, of course, within the few times he got to visit the boy on his nightly routes. We all knew that Jack would never miss the Sandman's nightly displays, and Sandy had shared with us the times he'd actually gone to visit the kid and found him missing. _

_None of us really knew what happened on those nights, but we could all guess it wasn't good. _

_Sandy made a few images above his head; an image of Jack, followed by myself, then a frowny-face, and ended with a question mark. _

_"Well of course I'm worried for 'im, I just think it's okay for the kid to get some time to 'imself. We all take some time to ourselves, don't we?" I defended, "What's so different about Jack?"_

_North's face turned serious. "The lake, that night."_

_"Jack is...a teenager." Tooth started, "He's...emotionally unstable. We've all known that, for centuries now. He...Well, I think he's tried to hurt himself. Because he's been alone so long. I don't know if he knows how to express himself without...force."_

_"So, you think he takes his emotions out on others...and himself?" _

_Tooth nodded._

_"Well then you'd be right," I finally admitted, cursing myself to revealing part of what Jack had told me. Tooth gasped, her hands flying to cover her lips. Sandy's eyes went wide in shock, as did North's, though a few Russian words escaped him, which I assumed might be some sort of slang or words of shock. Silence followed my words, and everyone was staring at me. _

_"Well, we must find Jack, then!" North announced, startling everyone in the room, "We need to find him now, quickly."_

_"But North, I don't think today is what you think it is-" I tried to tell him, ready to explain why Jack needed his space. The last thing Jack wanted would be the four of us interrupting._

_"Today is day we start helping Jack! Come on, into sleigh! We go to Burgess!" _

And now here we were, etching closer and closer to the winter spirit. We were in the back woods of Burgess, going farther out than we had last time; past the lake and the place we had resurfaced from the Warren. The forest was deathly still and quiet, as if in recognition of what was going on.

I had my ears pressed down against my head, ready for the sight I knew lay ahead. I had hiked through this area many times, hiding eggs , thought I hadn't hid any on this land in centuries. The village no longer stood here, the main part of town now existing away and cleared of trees. The longer we went, the higher and thicker the trees grew, the more worn the trail became, the dip actually becoming noticeable in the snow. Jack's footprints weren't easy to miss.

Finally, we arrived at the destination I'd been dreading.

"A...cemetery?" I heard North whisper.

"A...a mid-1700s cemetery." Tooth spoke softly, turning to give Sandy a confused look, who merely shrugged in response.

I sighed, and moved forward to take the lead. I turned towards them, crouching low to the ground.

"Keep yer traps shut 'n I'll show ya what 'e's really doin' 'ere...'n stay low, we don't wanna startle 'im."

After receiving three nods, I turned back to the back ahead and crept through the snow, motioning for them to follow. I led them to a close grouping of trees that had just enough room in between them to see through but kept us covered. And they gave the perfect view of a certain gravestone and depressed-looking winter spirit.

"Why is-" Tooth started to say until Sandy gently placed a hand over her lips, and she fell silent as all of our attention focused on Jack.

He was sitting in the snow with his legs huddled up against his chest and arms crossed, propped up on top of his legs.. His staff was laid to the side, within reach of course. His blue hoodie however was no longer on his body; in its place was a white, or, probably used to be white, tattered and torn blouse covered by a brown torn waistcoat and cloak. It was hard not to compare him to something of the past, nothing more than a ghost from the way he was sitting and how he looked.

Jack sat like that for a while, staring quietly at the grave with his chin in his arms. From where we watched, the name of the grave was out of sight, the others had no idea who it belonged to.

But I did.

And my thoughts were confirmed when Jack started to speak.

"Hey Elizabeth..." he coughed, starting nervously, "It's...it's been a while, yeah...it's been a while. Things...things have changed a lot since I last saw you. But, not all in a bad way...I mean, yeah, dying was a bad change." I heard the others gasp collectively, and I merely raised a paw to silence them once more. "

"I'm...I'm sorry you had to see me fall. I...I hope you got off the ice after that, I mean, I know you did, seeing as you lived to have children and what not. I...I just hope you, you didn't blame yourself for it, you know?" Jack paused, finding his feet very interesting.

"Well, I really hope you didn't. It was my fault for not checking if the ice was thick enough, I made a bad decision. At...at least you didn't get hurt, right? I mean, I'm sure you missed me, and mum. I hope you both were able to be well off on your own. I'm sorry for leaving you, especially so soon after Da..."

Jack cleared his throat, looking back to the gravestone. "So...I read through these things called public records, and I found that you eventually grew up and got married. I hope he was a nice guy, I mean, I'm assuming he was since you married him and had a family...I wish I could've been there- well, I probably was, but, I wish I'd of known who you were, and who I was. I would've made sure your kids had just as much fun in the snow as we did. I hope I kept the pond safe for them; I always make sure to freeze it over nice and solid now all throughout winter. No one should be drowning in it again...not as long as I'm around."

Silence again. Jack turned to face his staff and a look of hatred and self-loathing suddenly appeared on his face.

"I'm sorry about the blizzard...It's my fault. I wish I'd of known...I wish I'd had more control over myself then," he muttered, and I could see him tightening his grip on his arms.

"It's my fault you're gone..." he whispered, just barely loud enough for the four of us to hear.

"I'm so...so sorry..." Jack choked out, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I'm sorry I took you away from your children and your husband, I'm sorry you went out into that blizzard crying out my name...I-It's all my fault!"

At some point one of Tooth's hands had made its way onto my shoulder, and I nearly yelped in surprise when I felt her grip suddenly tighten. I looked back at her, and I could tell she wanted desperately to fly out of our hiding spot and hug the boy. I shook my head silently, as if to say _No, he needs to do this, he needs to get it out._

"I-I'm so sorry, Lizzy...I-I'm so, so sorry..." Jack whispered once more, burying his face in his arms as he started to sob. A light snow started to fall, quickly covering both the kid and the gravestone in front of him in a pure-white blanket.

It continued on like that, the snow and Jack's crying, for what felt like hours. Finally, the winter child began to calm down, his sobs fading away into much quieter whimpers and hiccups. I hadn't noticed my own eyes grow wet, or the soft sniffles coming from the others, the shivers around me. It appeared that even Jack was shivering, or merely shaking from his outburst.

The sky had darkened now. Had we'd really been out here that long? Or had we decided to track the boy down that late in the day?

Then, slowly, Jack scooted forward in the snow, dragging his staff behind him until he sat right in front of the gravestone. I saw Sandy tilt his head next to me, and Tooth leaned forward, trying to see what exactly he was doing.

He had gotten up onto his knees now, and his head was laid on top of the gravestone. He was whispering again, but I couldn't make out the words anymore.

I turned towards the others, pressing my ears back against my head and whispered, "I think it's time we go now, mates, ya'll've seen 'nough, right?"

"Y-Yes..." North responded quietly, "We can...we can discuss at pole. Come on, then."

* * *

I _really_ didn't want to tell the others without Frostbite's permission first, but they would not leave me alone about.

"Bunny, why didn't you share this with us earlier?" Tooth asked for the hundredth time, fluttering wildly about, "How long have you known? I mean, I'm happy he opened up to someone of course but, he...he had a sister? And he found out she died in a blizzard? It's no wonder he's been so depressed! He blames himself! Oh Jack...does he see that it's not his fault? Maybe we should-"

"No." I cut her off crossly.

She blinked at me. "No? But we should help him, talk it over-"

"He doesn't want to, Tooth," I said, interrupting her again.

"Bunny," North finally stepped in; he and Sandy had been quietly listening to Tooth go on and on, asking ten questions per second. "Did Jack tell you not to tell us?"

I nodded, uncrossing my arms. "Jack said 'e wanted ta share 'is memories with us all on 'is own time, but when I found 'im at the lake, he just spilled everythin'."

"...Everything?" Tooth asked quietly, letting her wings drop as she landed on her feet.

"Everything; what 'e saw in 'is memories, what 'e does and doesn't remember without the box, and what 'e discovered in the public records of Burgess." I replied, my voice growing softer; sharing all of this felt, well, wrong. I really didn't enjoy breaking my promise to the kid.

Silence fell in between all of us for a few minutes, no one quite sure what to say.

"You're not going to tell us, are you?" Tooth finally questioned, looking up towards the skylight. I bit my lip, but nodded my head.

"It's not mah place ta tell...Jack will tell everyone in 'is own time, ya can't rush these things-"

"Or, you could just ask instead of spying on me."

The four of us spun on our heels just in time to see Jack emerge from the hall, staff slung over his shoulder and blue hoodie back in place. He watched us with a look of amusement and slight annoyance, with his head tilted to one side and a small smirk on his face.

"I'm not deaf, you know. And you four, no matter how much you think so, really can't sneak through a forest very well," he chuckled softly, "You guys didn't learn that when we first met?"

North stood gaping at him, and Tooth lifted off the ground to fly over to him, "Jack-"

"Save it," he cut her off before walking around her and jumping onto the railing. He turned his back to us and crouched down, balancing effortlessly. He sighed and looked up towards the skylight just as Tooth had done.

"Look, I appreciate you guys worrying about me, I do," Jack started, "But it's...it's still a little new to me. It's, weird. A good weird, don't get me wrong...but, it, it takes some time to get used to, being cared about.

"If you want the truth about why I didn't want to tell you guys about everything I've figured out, it's because...I was still trying to believe it all myself. Over three hundred years with nothing but a name to sit in my mind as I tried to figure out who I was and why no one seemed to care about me or even see me...to suddenly learn all of this information and make sense of it? It's hard, really hard. It's a lot to think about, and to just accept it...takes a lot of time.

"If you guys really want to know, right now, I can tell you. I hadn't planned on telling you all today," he turned to face us, trying to smile, "I wasn't sure when I would, actually but...since you're all here, might as well, right?"

Sandy shook his head, as well as North and Tooth.

"No, Jack, you can tell us when you're ready, it's alright," Tooth said softly, flying over to him and laying a hand on his shoulder. "We're sorry we pried."

He shrugged her hand off and gave her a small smile, a true one. "Nah, it's okay. I would've too if I were you guys."

"Still, it was wrong of us." North stepped forward, "Bunny tried to warn us, saying you wanted time alone. We ignored 'tat.

Jack simply shrugged again, his smile faltering a little. "Sure, yeah, it was wrong. But you can't go back and change it, so there's no reason to dwell on it. And yeah, I might be a bit annoyed, but I'll get over it.

"Now," Jack paused to jump off the railing and walked over towards the lit fireplace. Dropping to the floor, he turned to face us, the smile now completely gone and replaced with a badly-hidden grimace.

"Let's get on with it. Take a seat and I'll just say it all in one shot."

I saw the others all share a glance, hesitating. I shot them one glare, hopped over to where Jack motioned, and sat down next to him.

"Come on, ya goons. 'E's gonna share whether er not ya like it, all of ya wanted to know anyways. Come on."

Slowly, a small, sad smile made its way onto Tooth's face, and she nodded before flying over to sit on the other side of Jack. Sandy and North soon joined us, and all attention turned on Jack.

He looked a bit nervous now, and he glanced at me. I flashed a tiny smile and nudged him, and the worry faded.

"Well, it...it all started back on the day my little sister Elizabeth asked me if we could go ice skating..."

* * *

**Yeah, I really have no idea where this one came from. **

**It's sort of a continuation (or at least branched off) of chapter 10 _Remembrance._ I just, really wanted to write it. I like it, I enjoyed writing Jack's parts. Sorry if he's a bit OOC (or if any of the other characters are), I know I'm a bit off on that in this one. But I truly think this is how Jack would react. **

**Anyways, I'm almost done with part two of the Curiosity arch, and I'm not sure how many more parts there will be. Little Jackson is a lot of fun, and I have too many ideas I'd like to do with him. **

**Read and review~**


	16. CuriosityChanged the Jack pt2

North's toy factor was big.

No, more like **huge.**

Tooth and I had split up in search of the little anklebiter, calling out his name and looking into every hiding spot there was at the pole. Yetis and elves eventually caught on to what had happened, and were helping us in the search for Jackson. Every minute that ticked by without even a trance of the kid only worked me up more. How'd we been so stupid to fall for one of the oldest tricks in the book?

Jack was a trouble maker. Always had been always will be, we should've known that even as a human child he'd be a handful. His poor mother probably had a lot to deal with, especially if Jack taught his little sister all of his antics. I shuddered a bit, reminding myself of what time period he'd grown up in; maybe he stirred up trouble and mischief to help them get by, back in those days, child death was common and there wasn't much to do besides adult work. Perhaps he'd get in trouble for the sake of the other children, just to make them smile.

The thought made me chuckle, snowflake risking his skin to get a bit of laughter from his sister or another child. He'd probably gotten punished a lot, his father probably- Well, Jack never talked about his father. He wasn't in many of his memories, either. _Hmm...I'll have to ask him about that once he'd back to normal. _

A sudden noise to my right made me stop short and turn towards the closed door. I was in the west wing of the factory now, away from the main toy production line and the Globe Room. Perking my ears up, I walked cautiously towards the door and pressed up against, trying to hear what was going on inside.

Bells and something clattering to the ground greeted my ears, and a little voice that mumbled,

"Uh oh."

_Yup, definitely in here. _I sighed and pushed the door open, putting a paw to my forehead and shutting my eyes before taking in the damage. _North is going to have my head for this._

Inside the room was one of the many side kitchens that could be found all over the pole, and were usually used by the elves only to make food for North and the Yetis, the elves weren't supposed to eat from their stock. However, it seemed today they had a little _help_ getting things from cabinets. Flour, various powders and spices, and a dusting of sugar covered the counters and floor. Elves ran around in a frenzy, trying to lick all of the sugar off the floor and scaling counters to reach the food on top.

And right in the middle of the floor, sat little Jackson with his hands to his mouth, staring directly at me. He was _covered_ in every flour and spice and sugar that must've been in here, and some type of liquid, probably mild. He looked a mess, and sadly, I knew that meant he'd need a bath. _That_ was something I had hoped we wouldn't need to do.

Holding back my anger, I coughed to clear my throat, catching all of the elves attention. They all stopped dead in their tracks and turned towards me, a bit of fear in their eyes; they knew I knew the rules of the pole.

"Well," I started, "Who's idea was it now?"

The elves all pointed to Jackson, who cowered under my gaze and tried to hide his face in his hoodie. I crossed my arms.

"'Kay, ya little devils, I know it wasn't all 'is fault. Ya elves know betteh, don't blame it all on the kid." I grumbled, stepping closer to a few of the elves, who started to move away slightly. "I want this mess cleaned up, got it?"

The elves quickly nodded and disappeared from slight, slipping into their own passage ways that were hidden all over the room and came back with mini brooms and dust pans, immediately getting to work.

I gave them one final glare before walking to where the kid sat huddled in the middle of the floor; he seriously was a mess. His hair was sticky and stuck together in clumps, his skin was dusted in sugar and flour, and milk stains slowly dried on the fabric of his sweatshirt. His eyes were puffy, and I could tell he was holding back tears. I sighed and crouched down to his level, lifting his chin up with my paw.

"'ey there, Snowflake. Ya gave us quite a scare, ya know." I whispered, looking him in the eye. He whimpered, and tried to look away.

"I-I'm sorry..." he choked out, "I-I, I didn't mean to..."

Suddenly he rushed forward, burying his face into my chest, and I could feel my fur becoming wet with tears and milk. I held back a grimace, pulling him closer and wrapping my arms around him awkwardly. Spirits, I hoped whenever Jack turned back to normal, he wouldn't remember this.

I heard him mumble something, but he still had his face hidden from view. "Wha' was that, mate?"

More mumbling, and he started to shake, his cries getting harder. I cringed, I _really _wasn't good at this, even when it was Sophie. When it'd been her, I'd handed her off to Tooth or Sandy or Jack. He was the best with children, especially distressed ones.

"Come on, Jackson, I can't hear ya when yer talkin' to mah fur."

He shook his head, still hiding from view. I sighed and pulled him away gently, but I immediately regretted it. His eyes were red from crying so hard so quickly, and I think there was a bit of snot trickling out of his noise. I had to resist the urge to cringe again.

"Snowflake," I started awkwardly, trying to keep my voice low. His eyes remained watered, tears kept streaming down his face and he still whimpered a little, but at least he was facing me now. "It's okay, mate. 'ey come on, now, shh...Now, can ya say that one more time?"

He nodded ever so slightly and spoke softly, "I-I'm sorry I-I g-got f-flour and s-sugar and m-milk everywhere...I-I d-didn't mean t-to...T-The e-elves j-just t-told me t-to get t-the bags..."

I smiled a little, I knew it had been the elves' fault. "It's alright, Jackson, the elves are sometimes mischievous like that." I said, picking the boy up into my arms and standing up. "They're gonna get punished, they know better."

Jackson sniffed, and wiped his arm under his noise. "W-What 'bout me?"

"Well, ya didn't know any betteh, did ya?" I grinned at him, making my way out of the kitchen and back towards the Globe Room. "Ya've never been to 'tis part of the pole. 'course, ya shouldn't be over 'ere, but, we found ya, so it's okay. Ya didn't know the elves weren't supposed to get into that, ya just wanted to be 'elpful, right?"

He nodded, and huddled over closer to my fur.

"Now, let's just get ya back to Tooth and then we'll get ya cleaned up, how 'bout that?"

* * *

Tooth had nearly suffocated the poor kid when she spotted us walking up the hall. She had flew over to us faster than I thought was possible, even for her standards, and plucked him right out of my arms, squeezing Jackson into a semi-death grip hug. She kept mumbling under her breath and smoothing out his hair to the best of her abilities (only further spreading the now-dried milk and flour mixture). It was hard not to smile at the sight; Tooth always held a motherly air about her.

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright!" she finally announced, kissing Jackson on the forehead and hugging him much more gently.

"Don't you ever scare us like that again, little mister!" she scolded as she set the boy down. We both knelt down to be eye level with him, and at the same time reached out to try and wipe off more of the dried ingredients covering his clothing and skin.

"Well, 'e's a bit of a mess now. I didn't get to 'im in time 'fore the elves used 'im to do their biddin'." I told Tooth quietly. Jackson's eyes had started to droop, and every so often when we'd been walking back a yawn escaped him. It was so odd to see the boy so tired, so vulnerable so...human.

Tooth's voice startled me out of my thoughts. "Then we'll need to give him a bath then, won't we?"

Jackson's eyes shot open.

"A bath?!" he cried out, looking horrified.

Tooth simply nodded her head, completely serious. "Yes Jackson, a bath. You can't go to bed like this, now can you?"

"Sure I could!" he pouted, hiding his hands in the sweater pocket. He looked down to the floor, a look of stubbornness settling into his features. I heard Tooth sigh, and I cast her a look of pity; this was not going to be an easy task. But to my surprise, she suddenly grinned at me.

_Uh oh. _

"Nah, no way, not 'appenin' Tooth, this isn't mah department-"

"Too bad, it's not mine either," she giggled, scooping up the child back into her arms despite his struggles and turning to hand him to me, "Now, you go take him and get some towels from North and uh, get him...undressed," she blushed at the word, "A-And I'll look for a washroom with a tub."

Unwillingly, I took Jackson into my arms and glared at her as she flew off, her face still growing red. Jackson started to squirm in my arms, just as un-eager to do this as I was.

"No bath!" he shouted, trying to push away.

"Sorry, Snowflake," I muttered, securing my hold on him and starting the search for towels and a place to make the kid...undress.

_Frostbite better not remember ANY of this... _I thought quietly._ I think he'd die of embarrassment, though I don't really want to remember this either._

Glancing around the room, I wasn't quite sure on where to even begin to search for a washroom, let alone towels to use. I didn't really bathe in the same sense as North and neither did Tooth, she using, well, a bird bath I think, and I just did it "the rabbit way". I wasn't sure what Sandy did, not that I truly wanted to know. But there must be a "normal" washroom, if not for North at least for the elves (as I was sure they created enough messes for one to be needed).

"Hmm...well, might as well ask one of 'em," I mumbled as I spotted one of the Yetis and waved it over.

"Do ya know where I could find a washroom 'n clean towels? 'N, um, somewhere he, uh, can change?" I asked awkwardly, slightly motioning to Jackson in my arms. Hopefully the Yeti would be able to assume the situation.

Thankfully, it was, and it lead me to a door down the hall from the Globe room and ushered us inside. To my surprise, the Yeti then took Jackson out of my arms and set him down on the ground after closing the door behind us. Inside the room there were dozens of towels and other fabric materials such as table cloths, blankets, and placemats as if it were some sort of storage room, which it probably was. The yeti made a few grumbling noises and grabbed a towel before turning to face Jackson and edging him back to a corner of the room, blocking him from my view.

I heard Jackson start mumbling words of resistance, and I saw the Yeti pull off his hoodie and set it to the side before pulling off what seemed to be a very tattered and dirty white blouse. It then wrapped the towel around the boy and picked Jackson and the discarded clothing up and turned back to me, holding him out at arm's length.

"Ah, thanks..." I mumbled and took him into my arms, "Where uh, where's the washroom?"

The Yeti took us back out of the room and then lead us down a few more corridors, finally coming to a stop in front of a wooden door. It pointed inside and grumbled something that sounded like "good luck", and left to get back to its work, hopefully dropping the hoodie in the laundry on its way. I glanced at Jackson, who looked at me at the same time.

"I am not taking a bath." he stated simply, crossing his arms and turning away from me.

"Oh yes you are, mate," I told him, "Even if I have to hold ya in mahself."

* * *

I really wish I could say that I hadn't of needed to actually hold the boy in the warm water while Tooth washed his hair and body, but I can't.

I really _did_ have to hold the boy down in the tub while Tooth tried desperately to get the dried gunk out of and off his hair and skin. Needless to say, Jackson did not like it _one bit._

"Let me go!" he yelled, still fighting against my grip. "It hurts!"

"I am so sorry, sweetie," Tooth tried to sooth him while scrubbing a washcloth along his arm, "We're almost done, just a little while longer, I promise..."

"The water is gettin' cold," I whispered to her, "Do ya think he likes that or...?"

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Probably not, he's just as human as any other child right now, the cold will probably only make him more upset."

And as if on cue, Jackson made one more attempt to free himself from my grip. "It's cold!" he wailed, now sounding close to being on the verge of tears.

"Please, let me go!"

"Sorry, mate," I whispered, keeping my hold on him (and my temper) secure, "Yer almost done, promise. Yer doin' real good, Snowflake."

He sniffled, but thankfully fell silent for the rest of the bath. His protests and attempts at escape slowly came to a stop, allowing me to loosen my grip just a bit so Tooth could wash his arms and legs. I still had to keep my paws in the water around the boy's abdomen, and I kept suppressing shudders as the water continued to drop in temperature.

Man, was I happy he'd stopped fussing and that I wasn't the one to have to continuously move about the tub (Tooth was quite literally floating above the water, understandably unwilling to get in). I did not like water, though I rarely admitted it. Perhaps it was just something about being part rabbit, or maybe it was built into the Pooka traits, but I could not stand being completely or even partially submerged in water.

I, much like Jack as I had come to discover, would sort of...freeze and go into shock whenever I found myself under the surface. I simply did not like the feeling, unable to kick off the ground and spring off like I would be able to on land, and well, Jack from his experience with drowning.

Jackson began to shiver, his teeth chattering quietly pulled me out of my thoughts. Tooth then gave off some sort of sound I can only describe as a nervous chirp before she fluttered to the side of the tub and grabbed one of the towels sitting beside me.

"Alright, all done!" she announced, "You can get out of the water now, sweetie!"

Having being lost in my thoughts just moments before, my grip on Jackson had slackened, the boy was able to slip away from my grasp and jump out of the tub, hastily grabbing the towel Tooth held out to him and start drying himself off. The situation was still very awkward, and I turned away, unable to get the image of Jack suddenly turning back to his normal age out of my mind. I heard Tooth giggle quietly at my discomfort before leaning down to help the anklebiter dry off and wrap a fresh towel around his body. She lifted him up into his arms and stifled another laugh.

"You can look now, Bunny."

I grumbled something under my breath, turning back to face them as they made their way to the door. Shaking myself out of my discomfort, I quickly hopped after them, reminding myself one more time to not let the kid out of my sight just in case the elves got a hold of him once more.

* * *

**Jeez this is so late. Sorry!**

**Life offline is hectic, and I **_**actually **_**have started a new story…Rise of the Guardians, of course. It's already close to 5,000 words, though that's all three chapters that have been written/are in progress. I'm really excited for this one, as I know **_**exactly **_**where I want it to go and how to get it there. I want to get a bit more ahead before I begin to think about publishing it yet. I need to talk things over with my beta-reader to see if they can handle the load, or if I need to get a second one. I don't want to bury her! Also, it needs a title! **

**So yes, read and review my little spirits, I know you're out there! Oh, and congratulations to Shadow-StrikeRaven to being the lucky 150****th**** reviewer! I'll be starting on their oneshot very soon!**


	17. Colonists and Vikings

"Pa, who's that?"

A small, brown-haired little boy called out, his Irish-accented voice carrying eerily over the silenced village. The intruders stood frozen, every eye of every resident of the tiny community on them. They were large, much bigger men than the colonists had ever seen before. They were nothing like them, they knew not of who they were or where they had come from. They seemed very intimidating; carrying large swords and weird contraptions made of wood and metal. They wore horned hats upon their heads as well, adding to the frightening image they displayed.

And yet…

The child who'd spoken earlier suddenly rushed out from behind his mother who reached out timidly to hold him back. The boy tilted his head, and freed himself from his mother's protective grasp. He walked up to the man at the head of the newcomers, head still to one side as his arms hung loosely at his side. His eyes shifted down from the man's face to a figure, much smaller, who was hiding in the looming shadow the other created.

The boy smiled.

"My name's Jackson," the boy said, taking a step into the shadow and pulling the other figure out into the moonlight. It was a boy of the other's age, and just as if not smaller. His hair was brown, longer than the colonial's and redder in color. Freckles mottled his face, and his eyes flickered their vibrant green in the pale light. The boy who'd identified himself as Jackson smiled at the other child.

"Who are you?"

The boy cowered slightly, casting his eyes down in fear. Jackson smiled reassuringly again, crouching a little to meet the other's eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. I told you my name, an' I just wanna know yours. What is it?"

Slowly, the boy raised his head and looked to the man behind him, bringing his hands together worriedly. The man nodded slightly, his eyes resting on the child before returning to the men standing perpendicular to them.

The boy looked to Jackson again before parting his lips just enough for him to stutter out,

"My…My name's Hiccup. I'm…I'm a Viking."

Jackson giggled softly. "Hiccup? That's a funny name, but I like it. No one else here is named Hiccup, but you're not from here so I guess that's normal. But…what's a Viking?"

A man in the crowd of colonists cleared his throat loudly before walking up to the two children and the man who stood behind them. The colonist's hair was the same shade of brown as the colonial child in front of him, and his eyes matched the bronze color as well.

"Jackson, that'll be enough. Go back to your mother."

The boy turned towards the man, his eyes wide and still full of curiosity. "But Pa, where did they-"

"Return to your mother and both of you go straight to the house. Now."

Jackson's shoulders dropped, and he cast his eyes down to the ground. "Yes, Pa." he mumbled, trudging his bare feet along the dirt path. Before he entered the crowd however, he looked back to Hiccup. He smiled again.

"I hope you can come over some time to play someday, Hiccup. Do Vikings like to play hide n' seek?"

* * *

**Possibly more of this crossover. It's really adorable and I saw a photoset of drawings of Hiccup and Jack as little kids, and well this just popped up. I may write little scenes for all four drawings I saw…**

**Also I ship Hijack and am working on a drabble for them ;v;**


	18. Watch the Shadows

_Watch the shadows…don't look away, keep watching them…he's there, he's there! Don't look away! He'll get away, he'll-_

"Jack, look out!"

The winter sprite was ripped out of his thoughts, turning around to face the shadow man just within seconds of the blade meeting its target. A boomerang flew out, swords swung forward…but they were too late. Black sand met blue fabric and pale skin, slowing time down for everyone in the alleyway. A ringing filled the boy's ears, drowning out the screams, the roars…the only thing he heard now was that awful, _awful_ ringing…

And the laughter of the Nightmare King.

. . .  
o  
. . .

The almost silent swish of a figure shadow-traveling was the only noise that tipped me off. The shadows on the walls disappeared as the sound stopped, only to be followed by the rushing of sand taking shape. I spun around, ears up and alert only to face Pitch standing right behind Jack, scythe raised and already swinging down towards the smaller figure.

My heart leapt into my chest, I raised an arm to throw a boomerang, my lips formed the words, yelling them out but I couldn't hear them. No, the only sound that reached my ears was the slicing of air as the black weapon was swung down, impaling the winter spirit before me with such viciousness that the boy stumbled back before falling to his knees. His lips were parted in a silent scream…

Screams and yells escaped all of us, rushing forward towards Pitch as he laughed maniacally, pulling his scythe out of the boy and stepping back into the shadows.

Then, a golden light. A golden wisp, trail, of beautiful sand that we never thought we'd see again shot out, entangling itself with the Nightmare King. It suddenly jerked, pulling the shadow man up and over the buses away from us. His laughter had stopped, filled now by shocked silence.

_Sandy_.

His name flashed in my mind as North rushed forward, trailing after the sand. Tooth did not follow, instead running straight to the boy on the ground, huddled over himself. She pulled him into her lap, running a hand through his hair and pulling him closer to her small frame. He leaned in to her touch, a sound close to a whimper escaping his huddled form.

I stood frozen, looking back and forth from the golden light to the black sand and blood slowly spilling out to cover the ground. Tooth let out a strangled cry, waving out an arm and shouting to me. I hopped over instantly, already feeling numb. Her hand fell against my fur, brushing it down as if to ask me to come closer. I obeyed, crouching down on my paws. Her eyes fell back to the winter spirit, full of tears before she had to look away.

I continued to look, however. No matter how much I wished to look away.

His skin was paling, even more than it should've ever been possible. His hoodie was slowly becoming stained a dark, brownish red as blood escaped a hidden wound. The hole in the fabric showed a section of the injury, tainted black with nightmare sand that was already disappearing inside of his body. My gaze drifted up to his eyes, finding them flickering and clouded with darkness. His piercing blue eyes stared back at me, focusing solely on my own green eyes. His lips parted again, but no sound escaped them. Blood tinted black now dripped out, drying much too fast against his skin. He seemed to form the words _I'm sorry_ with lips, reaching out slowly with one shaking hand. I took it into my paw, not caring about how cold his skin felt against my fur. Tooth took his other, pulling it up to her face as she tried to hold back tears. He smiled sadly, coughing out a final sentence,

"T-Thanks g-guys…f-for e-everything…"

Jack closed his eyes then, resting his head against Tooth's arm. His chest rose once, twice, and then stopped altogether. Tooth let out a choked sob, leaning over his still body just as the golden light became brighter, notifying us of Sandy's presence with North right behind him. I looked up at him, his smile vanishing as soon as he saw the winter spirit in Tooth's lap.

_Oh Sandy…you were only seconds too late…_

* * *

_Written today within twenty minutes. It's not my best but I had to get it out…I hope it's obvious what scene it's based on. It is from the movie, a scene I've seen rewritten so much that I thought there'd be no point in doing it myself. But, I'm not in the highest of spirits right now and I saw a post of the scene being analyzed on tumblr and this just came to me. _

_I hope you all enjoyed it. _

_Well, summer break is just two exam days away for me now. Anyone else getting out soon? Anyone have any good summer prompts for me? I know I have others to do (the 150__th__ reviewer request will be done! Don't worry!) but I'll be a bit more free (only a bit due to sports and jobs and vacations and stuff) so more ideas means more writing. I need to get my muse back for all of my other __**Rise of the Guardians**__ stories…_

_Review?_


	19. Physical

They'd always noticed that little things. How he stopped when someone bumped into him; how he'd pause and look down at the finger that had poked him; how he'd freeze when a hand was placed on his shoulder; how he become stiff whenever someone would give him a hug.

They didn't think it was a big deal, a bit odd perhaps but nonetheless nothing to worry over. He just didn't like being touched, right? It was something new to him; something that after three hundred years he'd gone without and now preferred to continue his old pattern, of course. It was something he'd need time to adjust to, similar to his adjustment of their company, or their compassion.

They didn't know how wrong they were.

Of course he hid it well. He stopped because he didn't want them to know that it hadn't bothered him. He'd pause to look because he wanted to be sure he wasn't just imagining it. He froze because he didn't want the hand to move away. And he became stiff because he was afraid of returning the gesture, only to be refused and pushed away.

Jack actually did enjoy, no, he _craved _physical contact.

He was just really good at hiding it.

* * *

_Had this one done for a while…I tried to make it longer but I was forcing it. I am working on the others I promised, including the next part of the Curiosity arch. I can't promise when it or the 150__th__ reviewer request will be up, but they will be done._

_Sorry, I'm just, in a weird funk these days. Review and critique. _


	20. Let Me Teach You

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" I heard Jack ask as he peered over my shoulder. We were inside the Great Hall, alone for the most part. Or I hoped, I really didn't need other villagers to see me seemingly talking to myself. The winter spirit hadn't been in here when I entered, but I'd grown accustom to him randomly popping in whenever he wanted; with a hand on my shoulder as always, not that I minded at all. His touch wasn't as cold as it used to be.

"I'm reading," I replied, tilting my head down at the book on the table. "It's a very good book."

"Oh," Jack's voice dimmed, and he stepped back, only to jump over me and land effortlessly on his toes on the table. "Why don't you stop reading and we can go outside and have a snowball fight? Or build a snowman, or ice over a few walk ways to watch some good wipe outs? Or-"

"Or how about we stay in here and read?" I cut in, smirking a bit. "There's plenty of books in here I'm sure you'd like. If I keep hanging out with you out in the cold I'm going to catch a cold."

Jack's face looked crestfallen, but he quickly covered it up as he jumped to the floor and leaned on his staff. I blinked; I'd never seen him make a face like that before.

"Aw, come on Dragon Boy, where's the fun in that?" He questioned, putting up what I easily recognized as a fake smirk.

"Everywhere. Don't you like to read?" I countered, my own smirk falling bit by bit. Something was up, I could just tell, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Jack's face suddenly grew pale-well, paler, and a hint of pink rose in his cheeks. "Uh...um, nope, don't like to."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Jack had always struck me as someone who'd enjoy a good book, especially during all those years of isolation. "Really? How come?"

Jack mumbled something under his breath, gluing his eyes to the ground as if he suddenly found it the most interesting thing in the room. I stood up, tilting my head at him. This was seriously something I'd never seen him do. Jack, the winter spirit, shies about something? And blushing? I expected the world to end at any moment.

"What was that?" I asked, taking a step towards him, "What'd you say?"

"I...IsaidIdon'tknowhowtoreadokaythat'swhyIdon'tli kereading." He stuttered, his voice faltering as he clutched his staff close to his chest, curling in on himself.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there Frosty. Say that again, but slower, please."

Jack finally peeled his eyes up from the ground, and for a second I thought I saw his eyes heavy with tears, and it nearly sent me stumbling back. This was so weird. With a sigh, he opened his mouth to speak again,

"I...I said I don't know how to read. There, now you know." He grumbled before sitting on one of the benches in the Great Hall. He put his staff to the side to make room for his legs as he pulled them up, hugging them close to his chest. He sighed again, resting his forehead on his knees and successfully hiding his face from view. "I...never learned how...It's not like there was anyone to teach me."

"Hmm," I hummed, sitting next to him and holding the book I'd been reading in my hands. An idea was forming in my mind and a smile was spreading across my lips. I draped one arm around the spirit's shoulders, gently pulling him closer to me. "Well, now there is."

Jack raised his head and turned to look at me, eyes full of confusion. He stayed like that for a moment, mouth slightly parted before his whispered, "What?"

"I said well now there is." I chuckled, holding up the book so that he could see it. "How about I teach you? It's not that hard at all, really. It's just learning about the letters and then putting them into words, and then reading the words. Then sentences, then paragraphs..." I rambled, panning my arm with the book in front of us as I tried to explain the structures of reading.

His eyes lit up, blue eyes suddenly shining with the glow of the fires all around us. A hint of a smile pulled at the side of his lips, "You'd...you'd do that?"

"Of course!" I responded, continuing to smile at him. And I meant it, reading was something that everyone, spirit or not, should be able to enjoy. "What are good friends for?"

The smile finally won over the battle on his lips, and one spread across his face, lopsided just as always as Jack let out a little, soft laugh before running a hand through his hair. "Thanks," he whispered before clearing his throat and sitting up a bit straighter, shaking himself a bit. He turned to look at me, and something in me urged me to move forward, closer, just a little. So I did.

So did him. "Thanks Hic. That, that'd be great." He continued softly, slowly tilting his forehead down until it rested against mine. I felt my heartbeat picking up in my chest as well as a growing sense of warmth in my cheeks. The winter spirit continued to smile at me, the pink tint rising in his cheeks again. It was such a subtle change really, but with his pale complexion, it stood out amazingly...at least, this close up.

I mean...we were really close now. Our noses were touching just as our foreheads were.

This was...new.

We fell silent then, neither of us moving. I could feel his cool, soft breath against my lips. For moment I wondered if he could feel mine, no doubt much warmer than his own, and I then wondered if it felt nice, if he liked the warmth. I certainly liked the cold, I found myself realizing.

Actually, I didn't just like the cold.

I loved it.

"You're cold..." I heard myself mumble, causing Jack to laugh breathlessly and close his eyes for a moment. I found myself then unable to look away from him, not that I exactly wanted to.

"And you're warm," He mumbled back, opening his eyes halfway. I swallowed.

"I hope you don't mind that..."

He smiled again. "I don't, I like it actually."

"Oh, good..." I trailed off, mind pulling a blank.

"Do you?" He asked, voice still soft as his head tilted to the side ever so slowly.

I blinked, feeling a bit dazed before realizing he'd said something. "Do I what?"

"Mind me being cold."

"Oh, no. I like it." I answered, noticing how close our lips were now. "I...like it a lot, actually."

"That's good." Jack smiled again, "Then, you wouldn't mind too much if I..."

He trailed off, his gaze falling from my own to my lips. I felt as if my heart had skipped a beat, and let my gaze drop to try to match his, trying to not look at his lips as they seemed to draw closer to mine. I felt a hand slowly begin to run through my hair, and it was so cool in contrast to the warmth in the air, something so different than anything else I'd ever experienced.

And I loved it.

I closed my eyes as something in my mind told me to close the gap, I don't know what but something just, clicked, and I pressed my lips to his. He shivered, his hand pausing briefly in my hair before it gently pulled me closer, his other hand coming up to do the same on the other side of my head. I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning into him. He started to lean back, and somehow we wound up lying completely on the bench, miraculously balancing on the thin wood as I tried to hover over him while he pulled my upper body down.

For a moment we parted, both out of breath and eyes opening halfway to stare at each other in the dim light, trying to find something to say but no words came. The silence hung around us, but it wasn't awkward or weird. It was...nice.

Jack smiled then, seemingly reading my mind as he whispered, "This is nice..."

I nodded slightly, a small smile pulling at my lips as I started to lean back down to him. "Yeah, it is..."

A glint of something I could only describe as mischief sparked to life in his eyes. "So, I guess reading lessons will be later?"

I rolled my eyes, but let the smile pull through this time. "I guess so," I answered in a hush before a sudden force sent me falling over the side of the bench and under the table. I felt the wind be knocked out of me as my back hit the ground, but a hand rested underneath my head and kept it off the ground. Jack was above me, on his knees and one hand under the table now, the smile and mischief glint still present on his face and in his eyes. He leaned down and brought his face to his, quickly pressing his lips to mine before pulling away. He whispered,

"I'm fine with that..."

I reached up and wrapped an arm around his neck once more, feeling my cheeks fill with heat once more as I allowed myself to smirk.

"You know what?" I asked, whispering as I lowered my eyelids and pulled him farther down until he was lying completely on top of me. "I am too."

* * *

This is my first time writing something like…_this,_ so I'm sorry if you don't like it or think it's bad! I had a lot of help and quite a few beta readers for it, so thank you to all my lovely reviewers and beta-readers (Bird you're so awesome ;v;)!

I've gotten so into Hijack, and I really, really want to do more with the pairing, so you can expect more things like this. Hopefully I'll improve with time~


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